Use Headings to Increase Search Engine Rank

The first Search Engine Optimization tip offered in this blog was to fully optimize the code and tags of a page which means you can concentrate on giving the user a clean and informative experience. We've all seen those top ranking sites that are full of text and keywords to advance their rank. But do they look good? No. Are those sites losing sales? Survey says yes. And so the purpose of this blog is to offer SEO tips that are ethical, organic, and that won't make your site look trashy. You can hire an affordable yet experienced person, such as myself, or you can follow the tips on this blog to get to page one.

So, let's get to the second tip: using and optimizing headings.

What are HTML Headings?

Let's say everyone in a class is asked to write a major research paper on the same topic. The first step is to write an outline which the professor uses to rank the papers. He/she puts the most specific topics at the top of the pile, with general and vague discussions at the bottom. But how does the professor know how to rank the papers when he/she only sees an outline? The answer is by looking at the topic headings.

Think of search engine robots as the professor, and your page headings as the outline. The use and optimization of headings within your content will help the search engine know what your content is about, if it is specific or general, and in turn improve search engine optimization if done right.

So, to sum up what headings are, they are titles that introduce a paragraph, but to be an "official" heading, specific tags must be used or robots won't recognize their importance.

HTML Tags for Headings

In an outline you'd have sections broken down by I. II. III., A. B. C., i. ii. iii., etc.
In an HTML document topics are divided by headings

H1--most important

followed by

H2--second most important

H3--third most important

H4

H5

H6

HTML tags come in a series of two...one to start the command the other to close it.














Tips for using headings--make it relevant, brief, and use keywords within headings. Use your most important keywords in your first and main heading.

Use Heading Tags on Your Site

Now that you are familiar with headings, why not go through your existing website and add heading tags where you currently have just titles. This is a simple and easy way to improve your search engine rank!

In the next topic we'll return to headings and I'll give you tips for optimizing the text within headings.