Page Content for SEM

Advice for Constructing Page Heading

There are four additional considerations when constructing page headings:

• Use Text Headings - Many site marketers believe they have headings on their page, and by looking at the page it does appear to be the case since words appear within a graphic.  But, as we noted earlier, inserted text in a graphic will not be read by search engines and, consequently, while it projects as a heading to site visitors who clearly see it as text, it does not project well to search engines that index the site.
• Use of HTML Heading Tags – HTML, the underlying code of the web, has special markers for identifying important text through so-called heading tags.  These tags, indicated with HTML coding such as <h1>,<h2>, <h3>, etc., are also recognized by search engines as carrying greater weight than other text within a web page.  It is good search engine marketing practice to surround the main page heading in the <h1> tag and use other tags for sub-headings (see next bullet).  Additionally, it is wise to limit the <h1> tag to a single heading per page and when possible place the <h1> heading above the content that it describes.  Normally this means placing the <h1> tag so it appears near the top of the page.
• Use Sub-Headings – Pages often are written to address sub-topics within an overall topic.  In cases where a page is of a length that is realistically represented on a single page (more on longer pages in next bullet) but where topics can be separated out, the use of sub-headings is recommended.  Additionally, sub-headings should be enclosed in higher number heading tags (e.g., <h2>, <h3>).  Unlike the <h1> tag that should only be used once per page, higher number tags can be used more frequently on a single page.  However, the use of these tags should not be overdone.  It is very likely that heading tags used too frequently may signal to a search engine that a site is attempting to trick the search engine into believing it is more important than it really is (i.e., spamming the search engine).  The best rule-of-thumb is to use heading tags for real headings, that is, text that is descriptive or clearly separate from other text.
• Break Headings Into Multiple Pages – Since the <h1> tag represents important content to a search engine, it is often beneficial to divide slightly different content into multiple pages each with its own <h1> header.  For instance, if a product serves more than one market then headings on different pages may include: “Our Custom Products for Hospitals”, “Our Custom Products for Colleges and Universities”, “Our Custom Products for Local Governments”, etc.