To this end, each heading should sound either like a query or an answer to a query - keywords included. Form query-like headings - Treat each heading as an additional opportunity to rank in search.Use H1 for the title, H2 for section headings, and H3 for subsections. Maintain shallow structure - There's rarely a need to go below H3.Not to be confused with the title tag - the title tag is displayed in search results, while the H1 tag is displayed on your website. Don’t use more than one H1 - H1 heading stands apart from other headings because it's treated by search engines as the title of the page.The rules for headings are derived from the general copywriting practices - break your copy into bite-sized pieces and maintain consistent formatting: So, from a user perspective, headings are handy reading aids.įrom the perspective of the search engine, however, heading tags form the core of the content, and help search crawler bots understand what the page is about. And if the article isn't split into sections, then many will bounce right away, because it’s just too much. It’s no secret that barely anyone reads through an article anymore - what we generally do instead is we scan the article until we find the section we like, we read that one section, and then we bounce. In those cases, consider leaving the meta description out - Google will scrape your page and populate your snippet with a few relevant quotes either way.īelow is a bit of code retrieved from the same BBC article on coronavirus statistics, and you can see that following the title tag is a meta description tag, which provides a brief summary of what the article is about: Consider skipping meta description - It can be difficult to create good copy for particularly long-tailed keywords, or for pages that target a variety of keywords.The more relevant your description is, based on the respective query, the more likely a user will visit your page. Write good copy - While the meta description is not used for ranking, it's still important to optimize it for search intent.Ensure that the important aspects are included early on to maximize searcher interest. Watch the length - Same as with headlines, Google will keep the first 150-160 characters of your meta description, and cut the rest.The rules for meta descriptions are not overly strict - after all, if you fail to write a good one, even if you fail to write one altogether, then Google will write one for you. You can see a properly set up title tag sitting right on top of the meta description tag - which is what we're going to discuss next: Add your brand name - If you have a recognizable brand that’s likely to increase your click-through, then feel free to add it to the title as well.īelow is a bit of code retrieved from a BBC article on coronavirus statistics.Create descriptive titles that highlight the value of your content, and set up proper expectations, so that users aren't let down when they visit the page. Write good copy - Don’t be salesy, and don’t be generic.Just make sure that your title forms a coherent sentence. Include a reasonable number of keywords - Keyword stuffing is likely to get penalized, but one or two keywords will be fine.It's not a problem to have a title that’s longer than 60 characters, so long as you fit the important information before the cut-off point. Watch the length - Google will only display the first 50-60 characters of your title, and cut the rest. ![]() On the other, your title should be attractive enough for users to actually click through, so a balance is required between search optimization and user experience: On the one hand, your title should contain the keywords that will help it appear in search results. As such, optimizing the title tag gives you some control over the way your page is represented in the SERP. Generally speaking, it's up to Google to create a SERP headline for your page, and it could use any of the section headings from within the page - or it may even create a new headline altogether.īut the first place Google is going to check for headline ideas is the title tag, and where a title tag is present, Google will very likely make it the main headline in the relevant listing.
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