Google’s Gary Illyes recently addressed a question regarding the use of headers (H1, H2, H3 and so on) and their impact on SEO.
Illyes explained the significance of hierarchically ordering heading elements for SEO, providing valuable insights into their actual importance for digital advertising techniques.
Heading Elements
HTML elements, similar to a house’s structure and roof of a house, serve as the fundamental components of a websites page, each having its own designated place within the structure.
Header components serve an important function in indicating the major topics and the subtopics of a website. When a web page is examined purely through its headings, it effectively forms a list of these topics.
Properly Ordering Headings and Google’s Perspective
Strictly speaking, organising headings in a hierarchical structure is the correct approach.
What Does Google Say On These Headings?
A issue was raised about Google’s SEO Starter Guide, which recommends arranging header elements in a “semantic” order to help users with screen readers. Aside from accessibility concerns, the inquirer remarked that Google seems to regard this behaviour as inconsequential. They questioned whether the guide was now up to date with the times, particularly because certain SEO tools provide different advice.
It’s a wonderful question to ask, as it appears sensible to utilise header elements to express the hierarchical relevance of various sections on a web page.
Is This Relevant to Google?
The official HTML5 requirements for headers imply hierarchical organisation. In both cases, headers mark the beginning of a new part on a web page. Although the guidelines strongly advocate “nesting” headers for subtopics, they are not a mandatory requirement.
Understanding Official Standards and Google’s Approach to Headings
The official standards explicitly advocate the use of H1 elements, which may surprise people, although this is not a hard and fast rule. The recommendations become more severe in the context of accessibility, when using heading components in a hierarchical order is critical to ensuring adequate organisation from most to least significant sections.
Google’s approach to using heading components is consistent with these guidelines, which allow some freedom except for accessibility purposes. The SEO tool accurately indicates that header items be arranged in hierarchical order. However, it is incorrect to imply that this method improves SEO.
This shows that, while H1 is vital for users of screen readers, it is not Google’s top priority. In 2001, The H1 was the most important header element for SEO, however this has not been the case for a very long time. Despite this, some SEO tools and practitioners still claim that Google prioritises H1, which is incorrect.
If you would like more details on this, make sure to listen to the SEO Office Hours Podcast at the 13:17 minute mark:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VuzvVnKSwV4?si=_o8hlCqHbOsBt9ov