The rules for an H1 heading are short: one per page, at the top, saying what the page is about. Following them is harder, because each kind of page needs a slightly different headline. This lesson is a collection of examples, weak and better, for the pages most sites have.
If you want the structure below the H1, the H2s and H3s, read a heading structure checklist first.
Three tests every good H1 passes
Before the examples, three quick tests. Run every H1 through them.
- The only-line test. If a visitor read nothing but the H1, would they know what the page is about?
- The search test. Does it use the words people type, the keyword, rather than internal jargon?
- The promise test. Does the page deliver exactly what the H1 says, no more and no less?
Blog posts and guides
A blog H1 can be a little longer, because the reader is choosing whether to stay.
The better versions name the topic and the result the reader wants.
Product pages
On a product page, the H1 is the product's name, written so a shopper recognises it and a search engine can match it.
Include what people compare on: the type, a key size or model, and the colour or variant if it changes the search. Leave out sales slogans; they belong in the text.
Category pages
Categories are often left with a bare one-word H1. Add the words people actually search for.
The guide for the On-Page SEO series: the full checklist, free by email.
Service pages and local businesses
For a service, say what you do and, if you serve an area, where.
Location in the H1 helps when people search with a place name, as most local searches do.
Homepages
The homepage H1 is often wasted on "Welcome" or the company name alone. Say what the business is.
Your brand name usually belongs in the title tag and the logo. The H1 can then spend its words on what you offer.
About, contact and other simple pages
Simple pages need simple, literal H1s: "About Smith & Co", "Contact us", "Delivery and returns". People look for these pages by name, so a clever headline only gets in the way.
How long should an H1 be?
Most good H1s fall between about 20 and 70 characters. Shorter than that, and they rarely name the topic clearly: "Bags", "Services" and "Blog" say almost nothing. Longer than that, and they become a paragraph, hard to read at a glance on a phone.
If a headline needs more words to make sense, the extra detail usually belongs in the first paragraph below it. The H1 names the page; the opening sentence sets up what it covers.
Landing pages and campaign pages
Pages built for an ad or a newsletter are often designed first and written last, which leaves them with a slogan as the H1. A slogan can stay as a large line of text, but the H1 itself should still say what is on offer: "Spring sale: 20% off all bread bags until 31 March" tells a visitor and a search engine more than "Spring is here!".
Check your own H1s
Paste a page into the heading outline viewer to see its H1 and the outline below it. Look for pages with no H1, more than one, or an H1 that fails one of the three tests. Fix the pages that get the most traffic first.
This is lesson 5 of the On-Page SEO series. When your headings are in order, run the free audit to check the rest of the page.
