I’ve seen a lot of confusion surrounding H-tags among many people. But why? What makes this so important? Isn’t handling H-tags the job of a web developer? Why should a marketer be concerned about this?

Is it really necessary, or are you just wasting your time here? In other words, how important are H-tags for a niche site? Personally, I believe we’re past the point of questioning this. In today’s digital landscape, a marketer is expected to be an all-in-one professional—an all-rounder. If you want to excel in marketing, you need to know about web development, web design, and technical aspects.

However, let’s move on and focus on the topic at hand. After all, this is common knowledge now. I assume everyone entering marketing today already knows this.

Since I spend a lot of time surfing online, I’ve come across numerous niche sites, still, I check them daily. I try to understand each one in detail, and I believe this experience is invaluable.

One thing I’ve noticed repeatedly while browsing these sites is that most people make mistakes when it comes to using H-tags. In many cases, instead of using the proper H-tags for subtitles, they bold the text. But this is an issue. Without wasting time on why this is a problem, let’s focus on how to use H-tags properly.

Today, I’ll try to clarify how to use H-tags effectively, based on how I use them on my sites or how I’ve observed their use on successful niche sites.

Let’s say you’re writing an article about cows. The title of the article might be How I Have Seen Cows Express Love in Bangladesh.

In a WordPress-generated site, this title will automatically be assigned an H1 tag.

So, when working within the article, we start by using H2 tags.

Now, let’s look at where each tag should be placed within the article.

An article typically begins with an introduction. It’s best to keep this introduction within 150 words. The goal of these 150 words is to engage the reader and encourage them to dive deeper into the article.

Now, if you want to categorize the different aspects of cows, how would you go about it?

• Cows (Subtitle: The Love of Cows)
• Bulls (Subtitle: The Stubbornness of Bulls)

These two would definitely be H2 tags because they represent the main sections of the article.

If you use a subtitle like Top Ten Loving Cows, that would also be an H2 tag, as it’s on the same level of importance.

However, if you go deeper into the topic, for example:

• The Love of Cows in Dhaka District should be an H3 tag.

If you get even more specific, like:

• How Are the Cows in Dhanmondi? You can use an H4 tag.

Did this help clarify things? In essence, the deeper you go into the subcategories of your main topic, the “power” of the H-tag decreases.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Animal (H1)
  • Human (H2)
    • Female (H3)
      • Girl (H4)
      • Teenage Girl (H4)
      • Young Woman (H4)
    • Male (H3)
      • Boy (H4)
      • Adolescent Boy (H4)
      • Young Man (H4)
  • Cow (H2)
    • Female Cow (H3)
    • Bull (H3)
  • Fish (H2)
    • Rui (H3)
    • Katla (H3)
    • Boal (H3)
  • Dog (H2)
    • Alsatian (H3)
    • Bulldog (H3)
    • Poodle (H3)
  • Cat (H2)
    • Mini (H3)
    • Tomcat (H3)

As you go deeper into subcategories, the power of the H-tag decreases.

Common Questions and Answers About H-Tags

Here are some frequently asked questions about H-tags that I’ve seen around. Most of these are quite basic, and you can find answers with a quick Google search or by applying common sense. Still, let’s go over a few of these questions and answers:

Question 01: How many H1 tags can you use in an article?

Answer: You can use as many H1 tags as you need in an article. However, since the H1 tag typically displays the largest font size and there’s usually only one main title in an article (which is meant to be the largest font), it’s common practice to use just one H1 tag. That said, it’s not a hard-and-fast rule. If you have a reason to use more than one H1 tag, feel free to do so—there’s no issue with it anywhere.

Question 02: What’s a common mistake when using H-tags?

Answer: If you follow the system I’ve explained above, you won’t run into any significant issues. However, it’s not mandatory to strictly follow this method. But it’s a good practice, as it helps search engine bots easily read your content.

Many SEO experts believe that if you leave gaps between H-tags (e.g., jumping from H2 directly to H4 without using H3), it can confuse search engine bots. So, it’s better to avoid such gaps. For instance, after using an H2 tag, don’t jump straight to H4—use H3 first. Similarly, after H3, use H4 instead of skipping to H5, as skipping tags can create issues.

I first noticed this problem in the current WordPress editor, and after researching it, I found that skipping H-tag levels can indeed create complications. So, it’s something you may want to avoid in your structure.

Question 03: How many H2 tags can be used on a single page?

Answer: There’s no strict limit. You can use as many H2 tags as needed. Personally, I assign H2 tags to the main subtitles, H3 tags to product names, and H4 tags to features, pros, and cons. This is how I usually structure my content.

Question 04: Will there be any issues if H-tags aren’t used properly?

Answer: Yes and no. No, in the sense that I haven’t found any sources claiming Google penalizes sites specifically for improper H-tag usage. However, yes, because improper use of H-tags can confuse search engine bots, which might hinder proper indexing or ranking. So, while it may not directly harm your site, it can cause issues. Since it doesn’t take much effort to use H-tags correctly, why not do it? Proper H-tag usage also improves the overall design and readability of your articles.

Question 05: What is an H-tag?

Answer: H-tags refer to the titles or headings used in an article. The term comes from HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Since HTML isn’t technically a programming language, the shortcuts used to build websites are called tags rather than codes. One such tag is the H-tag, which is used to define headings within a webpage. Here’s a simple definition:

There are a total of 6 H-tags, which are:

This is the H1 tag

This is the H2 tag

This is the H3 tag

This is the H4 tag

This is the H5 tag

This is the H6 tag

In conclusion

I hope there won’t be any more confusion regarding H-tags. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. However, I believe this explanation will clear up any complexity you might have had about H-tags.

That said, there might still be some queries. Perhaps I wasn’t able to write this in the simplest way for everyone to understand. So don’t hesitate to ask questions. Insha’Allah, I’ll do my best to provide answers.

Thank you, and stay well!