The business owner’s guide to using headings

Headings are an important part of any piece of content. They don’t just help readers to navigate your text, they also allow Google to better understand what your content is about.

Using headings sounds easy, but they can be tricky. Here’s what business owners need to know to make sure you’re using them correctly.

Why should you use headings in the first place?

There are a number of reasons why business owners should definitely use headings in their content.

To add structure to your text

Headings are a great way to add structure to your article and guide readers through the piece. People don’t tend to read an article in full online. Instead, they will skip ahead to bits they are interested in. Headings help to point out and label different sections so that readers can easily find the information they are looking for.

To improve accessibility

Headings also make your text more accessible for people who can’t easily read from a screen. Headings are picked up and read by screen readers which allow the visually impaired to decide whether or not they want to read that particular section of your article.

To improve your article’s ranking

Headings are a great way to include keywords in your article that can improve your SEO. By making your content more readable, they can also increase the amount of time that users spend on your site, which is another Google ranking factor. Just be careful not to over-optimize and stuff keywords in your content.

How to use headings the right way

Using headings isn’t as simple as adding in headings willy nilly throughout your article. There are certain rules that you need to abide by if you want to use them effectively.

The first rule is that you can only have one H1 tag per page. This is usually the title of the post. For instance, the H1 in this article is “The business owner’s guide to using headings”. If you’re confused think of the H1 tag as the title, rather than a specific subheading.

Once you’ve used your H1 tag, you can use as many H2, H3, H4, and even H5 tags as you like. But each tag should follow each other sequentially. For instance, you wouldn’t start with an H3 tag and then use an H2 tag. You’d use an H2 tag then an H3 tag. You can then use another H2 Tag again.

If you were to look at the structure of a page, it might look something like this:

H1: Page Title

H2: First Main subheading

H3: Related subheading

H2: Second main subheading

H3: Related subheading

H2: Final Subheading

If you use headings in this way, you’ll create awesome pieces that are very easy for both humans and Google to read. This will mean more time on your site, better rankings and possible improved conversions. So get started using headings today.

For more information on how to improve your rankings, get in touch with our team today for a free consultation.