SEO Basics: How Important Are Headlines for Websites?
Do we still need headlines on our websites at all? Headlines (H-headlines) have been part of our daily bread of search engine optimization for many years. Nevertheless, voices are raised again and again that headlines do not create any added value and have no influence on the ranking of a website.
How to use headlines correctly on your website
The topic of headlines has been discussed for a long time. Just a few years ago, optimized H-headings were among the most important ranking factors for quickly gaining visibility in search engines.
The cornerstone back then was always an H1 as the main heading; this was only allowed to appear once in the text or on the web page. In addition, it was important that the order (heading hierarchy) was strictly adhered to: First the H1, then the H2, H3, H4….
Nevertheless, there are various SEO tools that will still give you a missing or multiple excellent H1 as a website error. However, this is not a critical problem. So are headings outdated?
H-headings: Useful for usability
The answer is no. Even though Google no longer considers headings as an active factor for rankings, a clear H-structure and appropriate context helps the search engine to better read and index your website. Headlines are especially relevant for your users. They must be able to find their way around your website and, in the best case, see directly what it’s all about. With good, structured and optimized headlines you can improve the readability as well as the user experience (UX).
The advantages of an optimized H-structure are therefore clear — they help to communicate what the page is about. This is beneficial for bots and also increases usability for your users. Headings also make it easier to read on mobile devices. If users find what they are looking for right away, they are much less likely to bounce. This in turn sends positive user signals back to Google and affects the ranking of the website!
How should h-headings be structured?
Headlines should offer added value to the search engine, but above all to your users. That’s why every good headline is preceded by keyword research. After all, you want to offer content on a specific topic.
Research tools help you to identify a relevant focus keyword, various secondary keywords and synonyms. Likewise, long-tail keywords and keyword questions can and should be incorporated into your texts. To improve readability, these keywords should be used in the headlines. The focus keyword should appear directly in the H1 and, if possible, be placed first. This way, readers and the search engine will immediately know what the topic is.
The secondary keywords and synonyms can be covered by the remaining H-headings. However, it is and remains important — readability comes before keyword optimization! The headlines should therefore always be formulated naturally and remain easy to read. This also means to pay attention in the formulation of headlines to satisfy the search intention of the reader.
Even if headlines are theoretically no longer relevant for rankings, you still need headlines to make your website clear and concise for the user. And your ranking in the search engines will also benefit from this!
