Title Tags H1 H2 and H3 how to use them and why

Apparently very similar SEO tools which, however, can make the difference when checking the actual positioning of a page.

If you are here, it is probably because you already know the rudiments of layout from an SEO perspective and would like to optimize your contents. You may be a beginner and wondering: but why don't they just call them “titles”?

H1, H2 and H3 are elements appearing in the Word editor and many text layout tools, such as WordPress. From the most important, the H1, which should always be only one and takes the name of "PAGE TITLE", up to the H3, or "PARAGRAPH TITLE" these tools allow you to divide the text into clear, evident and easy to consultation.

An easy-to-read text is a text that users like and, consequently, also Google likes.

TITLE TAG

Il title tag is the html element of a page that specifies its title. It is closely linked to the title that will appear in the SERP, i.e. in the search engine results list, and plays an essential role in capture the user's attention and invite him to click. The title tag must be concise, captivating and, above all, must be able to convey the message within the text of your page. Those who browse Google and carry out a search choose the result to click through a few elements: of these, the title plays the most important magnet role.

Why are title tags important?

Meta tags are an important factor in helping search engines understand what your page is about, and are the first impression most people have of your page. Title tags are used in three key places: (1) search engine results pages (SERPs), (2) web browsers, and (3) social networks.

1. Search engine results pages
   The title tag determines (with a few exceptions) the title displayed in the SERPs, and is a visitor's first search experience of your site. Even if your site ranks well, a good headline can be the make or break factor in whether or not someone clicks on your link.
2. Browser
   The title tag also appears at the top of the web browser and acts as a placeholder, especially for people who have many browser tabs open. Unique, easily recognizable titles with prominent keywords near the front help ensure people don't lose sight of your content.
3. Social nets
   Some external websites – especially social networks – will use the title tag to determine what to display when you share that page. Note that some social networks (including Facebook and Twitter) have their own meta tags, allowing you to specify titles that differ from your main tag. This way you can optimize for each network and provide longer titles when and where they can be useful.

How do you write a good title tag?

Since title tags are such an important part of both search engine optimization and search user experience, writing them effectively is a low-effort, high-impact SEO task. Here are critical recommendations for optimizing your title tags for search engine user and usability goals.

1. Look at the length of the title

If your title is too long, search engines can trim it by adding an ellipsis (“….”) and may end up omitting important words. While we generally recommend keeping titles under 60 characters, the exact limit is a little more complicated and is based on a 600-pixel container.

Some characters naturally take up more space. A character like uppercase "W" is wider than a lowercase character like "i" or "t".

Try to avoid using all-caps titles. They can be difficult for search visitors to read and can severely limit the number of characters Google will display. Keep in mind that, even within a reasonable length limit, search engines may choose to display a different title than what you provide in the title tag.

Keep in mind that longer titles may work better for social sharing in some cases, and some titles are naturally long. It's good to be aware of how titles appear in search results, but there's no penalty for using a long title. Use your judgment and think like a search visitor.

2. Don't go overboard with SEO keywords

While there's no penalty built into Google's algorithm for long titles, you can run into problems if you start cramming your title full of keywords in a way that creates a bad user experience, such as:

Buy Polos, Best Polos, Cheap Polos, Polos for sale

Avoid titles that are just a list of keywords or repeated variations of the same keyword over and over. These titles are bad for search users and could create problems with search engines. Search engines understand keyword variations, and it's pointless and counterproductive to put every version of your keyword into a title.

3. Give each page a unique title

Unique titles help search engines understand that your content is unique and valuable, and they also help increase click-through rates. At a scale of hundreds or thousands of pages, it may seem impossible to create a unique title for every page, but modern CMSs should allow you to create at least unique, data-driven titles for nearly every important page on your site. For example, if you have thousands of product pages with a database of product and category names, you can use that data to easily generate headlines like:

[Product Name] – [Product Category] || [Brand]

Definitely avoid predefined titles, such as “Home” or “New Page” – these titles can trick Google into thinking you have duplicate content across your site (or even across other sites on the web). Also, these titles almost always reduce the click-through rate.

Ask yourself: How likely are you to click on a page called “Untitled” or “Product Page”?

4. Put important keywords first

According to testing and Moz's experience, keywords closest to the beginning of the title tag can have the greatest impact on search rankings. Additionally, user experience research shows that people can only scan the first two words of a headline. This is why we recommend titles where the most unique aspect of the page appears first (such as the product name). Avoid titles like:

Brand | Major Product Category – Minor Product Category – Product Category – Name of Product

Headlines like this example front-load repetitive information and provide unique value at first glance. Also, if search engines cut a title like this, the most unique part is the part most likely to go missing.

5. Take advantage of your branding

If you have a strong, well-known brand, adding it to your titles can help increase click-through rates. We still generally recommend putting your brand at the end of the title, but there are cases (like your homepage or web page) where you might want to be more brand focused. As mentioned above, Google can also automatically add your branding to the titles it displays, so keep in mind how your search results are currently displayed.

6. Write for your customers

While title tags are very important to SEO, remember that your first job is to attract clicks from well-targeted visitors who are likely to find your content valuable. It's crucial to think about the entire user experience when creating your title tags, as well as optimization and keyword usage. The title tag is a new visitor's first interaction with your brand when they find it in a search result – it should convey the most positive and accurate message possible.

Why doesn't Google use my title tag?

Sometimes, Google can display a title that doesn't match the title tag. This can be frustrating, but there's no easy way to force them to use the title you've defined. When this happens, there are four likely explanations…..

1. Your title is written with keywords

As discussed above, if you try to stuff your title with keywords (sometimes called "over-optimization"), Google may choose to simply rewrite it. For many reasons, you consider that rewriting your title is more useful for user research.

2. Your title doesn't match the query

If your page matches a search that is not well represented in the title, Google may choose to rewrite your display title. This isn't necessarily a bad thing — no title will match every imaginable search — but if your title is being overwritten for desirable, high-volume searches, then consider rewriting it to better match your search keywords and their intentions.

3. You have an alternate title

In some cases, if you include alternative headline data, such as meta tags for Facebook or Twitter, Google may choose to use those headlines. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but if this creates an unwanted display title, you may want to rewrite the alternate title data.

4. You have an old DMOZ list

In rare cases, search engines can pull a title from DMOZ (aka the Open Directory Project). If the title displayed in search does not match the title tag but does match your DMOZ listing, then you can block substitution with the Robots NOODP tag, which looks like this:

Meta robots are a fairly technical subject, but if you see an unexplained display title in SERPs, do a quick search on DMOZ for your company. It might save you some headaches.

TAG H1

The TAG H1, as a rule, coincides with the title of the page and offers the user a clear idea of ​​the subject matter and how this is actually gutted within the text. Search engines carefully evaluate the H1s, one of the most important SEO aspects of the On Page, but be careful: they will only consider one. Choose it well and make sure it contains the most important keyword of the page, the one on which you have decided to focus everything.

Let's dig deeper…

The header tag, or tag in HTML, is usually the title of a post, or other text that is emphasized on the page. It will usually be the larger text that stands out. There are other header tags in HTML as well, like an h2, h3, h4, h4, etc. Each of them may have a minor degree of importance on the page, but it really depends on how your HTML/CSS developer has done the layout. Sometimes, they make your logo the h1 – because it's in the header, but it would be better to make the h1 the title of the page or post.

How do you write the header, or h1 tag.

It will look similar to how you wrote the title tag. Sometimes these can be the same, and that's okay. Here are some tips:

1. Put the header tag at the top of the page, preferably after the tag.
2. Are you targeting the keywords you want to rank higher for? If not, go in and edit your tags slightly to include these words. If your h1 is an image, use the image alt tag to add those promising keywords.
3. Want to have more than 1 header tag on page? Google won't penalize you, but they prefer one. If you need multiple titles, then maybe it should be split across multiple pages, or use just one h1, or multiple h2s

TAG H2 – H3

Paragraphs break up walls of text and make them easier for the reader to digest at first glance. The H2 (and it goes up to H6!) are ideal elements for create paragraphs and subparagraphs that allow you to articulate the text and break it down into several important concepts.

These items play a essential role within the formatting of a page and contribute hand in hand with the drafting of texts that are easy to understand, rich in concepts and information without too many words.