High-quality content is more than just memorable storytelling skills, or the funny and innocent jokes that come up from time to time. And while all of these elements are extremely important, there is another one that we don’t talk enough about. Headings can make or break an article. This article goes through all of the reasons why headings are so important. When do you want to use them? And what are the types of headings that you want to concentrate on? Even if you have a great article, if the main heading is not good, or if the headings’ structure is not done correctly, no one is going to read it. So, let’s learn all the tips and tricks available!
Contents:
The Content’s Skeleton
Every piece of text needs a skeleton, otherwise it’s just a block of text. In order to create a skeleton, you need headings. A wall of text is not appealing to anyone, and users will just leave your website. Your article needs to feel like it won’t be a struggle or a commitment to read. Think of a book with 0 chapters, just continuous text. Not many people would read it, because it seems tiring. People need to feel achievement, like the one you feel when you just finish a chapter. There are three main types of headings that you want to include in your text.
The H1 Heading
The H1 heading is the one you see at the top of the page. It’s the title of the article, which makes it the most important one. Why is it so important? Because it tells both the readers and the search engines what the article is about. It’s like the name of a book. It’s also the heading where you want to use your main keyword. It should be clear, expressing the topic of the article. You want to write it in a way that catches attention. It’s your chance to convince users to click on it and read it. Both reads and engines love articles that begin with these expressions:
- How to
- Guide to
- What is
- Defining
- Did you know
- A list of
- Five things that you need to know about
The H2 Heading
The H2 headings are breaking down the article into major sections. These are the headings representing the chapters of a book. They allow the reader to see the exact ideas that are going to be explored in the article. Moreover, they can just read the section that interests them. The text looks more organized, it’s easier to read and easier to write. This kind of structure encourages the reader to keep reading. It’s easier to commit to something that seems to allow you to stop anywhere. H2s also give you a chance to include secondary keywords. The H2 headings are the slices of a bread, and the H1 heading is the bread itself.
The H3 Heading
The H3 headings are the subheadings of the H2 headings. They give you the opportunity to discuss the nuances mentioned in the section with the H2 heading. As we all know, there is always a deeper layer to a topic. This type of heading allows the writer to go into detail, without scaring the reader with a large block of text. It also gives the reader the chance not to read those details. The H2 and H3 headings help each other a lot. They help the writer split the information into tiny boxes that are easy to follow. The H3 headings are the bread crumbs!
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The H4, H5, and H6 Headings
Even if they are not among the latest SEO trends, H4, H5 and H6 headings can be useful too! They help you create sections that can even go into even further detail than with the H3 heading. The bigger the number in the heading name is, the smaller the heading itself is. You can use each of these headings when you think it is appropriate. It’s true that a reader might not even observe them, but the search engine knows they are there. You can use them to make sure that your article is layered and easy to browse.
Why Do Readers Love Headings?
Most readers won’t read an article word-for-word, they typically skim. This article on Medium tells us that more than 80% are skimmers. Because of social media and the rise of short-form content, people’s attention span is shorter than ever before. It’s easy to just say that they are not real readers, and that you won’t think of them while writing. But that’s not a very good idea, because most readers are like this nowadays. They will always look only for that specific section that they are interested in. Or they will just read some of the headings and the first few sentences. They want a general idea of the land, not all of the bits and bobs.
Headings are Psychologically Pleasing
The human brain loves patterns and cues, which headings provide. Having a heading from time to time helps the brain find the reading experience more pleasing. Reading requires concentration, which is easier to do if there is a pattern to follow. It provides a mental stop, and it can also provide a physical pause. It’s easy to take a break because you keep a mental note of what section is next! The cues that headings provide give the reader a boost. They know that the next section is of interest to them, so they must power through are read it. Plus, it’s only 100 and something words. Why not read it, right?
Allowing the reader to choose what to read and what to omit gives them a sense of control that makes them more likely to actually read the whole thing. And, as previously mentioned, it gives them a sense of achievement every time they finish reading one section. A funny heading could make the reader feel excited to read. An intriguing heading will make the reader curious. A boring heading will just make the reader scroll down. Headings are incredible psychological tools, and they are not to be ignored.
Stand Out
When we say stand out, we are talking to the text! You want the most important information in your text to stand out, even if only a little. This is why many writers use bold or italic formatting for their text. The reader’s eyes will surely fall on that, and they will probably read the whole sentence. As a tip, try to keep all paragraphs around 150 words, because anything longer than that seems too long. You want to have lots of paragraphs and headings. You want to break ideas into chunks that seem easy to manage. No one has time to write a 1000-word article in one sitting, but they could read a few 150-word sections.
The headings that you are using should be intriguing. Like the name of a book or of a movie. You want to make the reader curious, even if they weren’t intending to read about the topic. Humans are curious creatures, and if you catch their attention, you can convince them to buy from you. But, don’t try to be too fancy, as you might scare the reader away. If you are being too cryptic in your headings, readers will simply lose interest. You want them to know what they will read about, but not exactly what they’ll find out.
The SEO Title Tag
To put it simply, title tags are an HTML element that demarcate a page’s SEO title. It’s essential to know about these, because they are not always the same as the title of the article. A title tag needs to be shorter, or around, 60 characters in order to appear in full on a SERP. On the other hand, a heading can be way longer than 60 characters. Let’s take a look at a heading and a title tag for the same article:
- Heading – Top 10 pumpkin recipes that you will want to try this autumn.
- Title tag – Top 10 pumpkin recipes.
There needs to be this distinction between the two, so that the search engines can know what your article is about.
Title Tags and SEO
Why are title tags so important for SEO? If you want search engines to show your website on the results page, you need title tags. They tell the search engine what your page is about. Over the last few Google updates, the search engine has improved the relevance of the results that it shows to queries. And, in order to do that, it analyzes title tags, meta-descriptions, and other elements related to on-page SEO. This article published by Shopify talks more about the importance of title tags for SEO.
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Balance Keywords and Creativity
Title tags and headings need to be the perfect combination of keywords and creativity. Remember that your text needs to be pleasing for both the search engine and the reader. The search engine likes to see the keywords naturally integrated. The reader loves to see titles that make them curious. You don’t want to repeat the keywords again and again. As an example, you don’t want to say: ‘Top 10 pumpkin recipes that will give you the top pumpkin dishes’. You should go with something more natural, like: ‘Top 10 pumpkin recipes you’ll love’.
Understand the Hierarchy
You need to understand that the biggest title will be the one read first. Therefore, you want to keep that in mind when you are thinking of the titles. As mentioned before, the main topic should be the H1, the main topic’s sections should be the H2, and the details of H2 should be in the H3. After you have established the three most important headings, you can go deeper into the topic using the other three types of headings available. If you remember this guide, you will be able to create an efficient structure!
What Is HTML
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, and it’s the standard markup language to be displayed in a web browser. It consists of symbols and codes embedded in files for internet display. It might sound very complicated, but it’s quite easy to understand. Moreover, Hypertext is the method by which you navigate the web. When you click on a hyperlink, you are taken to a new page. Investopedia tells you everything that you need to know about HTML. Some tags that are important for SEO are:
- Headings
- Meta-description
- Paragraphs
- Lists
- Image alt text
Meta-Description
A meta-description is an HTML attribute that summarizes what the web page is about. It’s the text that appears underneath the title of the page in SERP. It is a little sneak peek into what the user will get if they click on it. It’s your opportunity to convince the users to become readers or clients. You want to keep it around 150 characters, with clear text and a convincing CTA (Call-to-action). You also want to integrate some keywords, but do it naturally. Try to use a different meta-description for each article and every page of your website.
Common Mistakes
Overusing headings is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Many writers use headings way too much, which makes the text no be cohesive anymore. You don’t want your text to be choppy, you want it to be organized. Not every idea needs a new heading! Focus on giving only core idea headings. Another mistake that’s common with articles and other kinds of content, is misleading headings. It’s known as ‘Clickbait’, and as the name says, it’s written in a way to convince users to click on it. But, then the users don’t receive what they clicked on. As an example, you see an ad with the title: ‘The best pumpkin recipes’, but when you click on it, it’s just one basic pumpkin pie recipe.
Something that can be seen in many texts is inconsistency. The headings are in one tone, and then the rest of the text is in another tone. The heading is a play on words, but there are no other jokes throughout the article. If you started the article with one voice, keep it consistent to the end. Consistency creates a nice harmony! And last but not least, not using headings at all, or not often enough. If you only have the main title and two or three other H2 headings, it’s not enough. The information won’t be easy to follow, which means that no one will read the article. You need to find a balance between too many and not enough headings.
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Content writers are the writing experts who will create an article from scratch. They will find the most creative idea that people are interested in. They will make sure to write the most compelling headings, and the text will be high-quality. Many content writers nowadays forget about the importance of headings and of naturally integrating keywords. With the rise of AI, many agencies or businesses use AI to write articles. But not us! GAMIT SEO provides some of the highest-quality content writing services that you can find on the market. We have a team of content writers who will carefully follow the SEO strategy that we put together for you. When you are paying for SEO services, you are getting all of the weight off your back. You won’t have to think about all of the things we just discussed, because we’ll do them for you.
Ion G. Tudorache
As a co-founder and managing director of GAMIT I am the first contact of our clients. My job includes setting project objectives and offering SEO consulting advice to customers. My professional background and experience working in the SEO industry are essential in developing efficient SEO strategies and designing innovative techniques.
