Common Heading Mistakes That Hurts Your SEO & How To Fix It
Headings help you structure your page and make search engines and your audience understand your content’s context better. In this article, we’ll discuss why headers matter in SEO, and 7 common heading mistakes that hurt your SEO and how to fix it. I’d recommend that you read the best practices for heading structures.
Headings are an important part of on-page SEO; read the complete on-page SEO guide to improve every element on your page for higher rankings.
Why headers matter in SEO
Headers organize your content and tell users and search engines what your page is about. If you structure them the wrong way or don’t use them, you make it harder for your audience and search engines to understand your content.
From reader’s perspective, a great heading structure makes your content skimmable. This helps users scan quickly to see if your page is a good fit for them, this will keep them on your page longer. This sends positive signals to search engines.
Knowing the differences between the various headings (H1, H2, H3, …) is very important to structure them the right way.
Most common heading mistakes and how to fix them
1. Missing or weak H1 title
Your H1 title explains the main topic of your page. It tells Google and your audience what they can expect. When your page doesn’t have an H1 title, it confuses your audience and search engines what your page is about.
If the H1 title is weak, it doesn’t invite your audience to read your page. If your audience doesn’t feel invited, they might bounce. This bounce rate sends a negative signal to Google and this might hurt your rankings.
How to fix it:
- Use one clear H1 that describes your page.
- Include your keyword naturally.
- Keep it short, preferably under 60-70 characters.
2. Using headers for styling instead of structure
A lot of websites use headings to style their text and use headings to make text look bigger or bold. Headings aren’t design tools, they are here to structure your page. If you use them for styling, your entire content hierarchy collapses.
How to fix it:
- Use CSS to style your text, not headings.
- Use H1 for the main topic, H2 for sections and H3 for subtopics in the subsections.
3. Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing worked 10-15 years ago, but today’s algorithms are much smarter. Keyword stuffing even hurts your rankings as it is unnatural and search engines detect it.
Try to aim for variety and flow.
How to fix it:
- Write for humans first.
- Don’t use your keyword twice.
- Focus on related terms.
4. Skipping heading levels
Headings are here to create a certain hierarchy. You shouldn’t jump from H2 to H4. This breaks the logical structure and confuses crawl bots trying to understand your hierarchy.
How to fix it:
- Always follow the hierarchy; H1 – H2 – H3 – H4.
5. Headings don’t match the content below them
If your headings don’t match the content on the page, users will be frustrated and leave your page without hesitation. This sends negative signals to search engines, and hurts your SEO.
A solid heading sets a clear expectation and the content below it should deliver on that expectation.
How to fix it:
- Double check if each section answers the heading’s promise.
- Avoid clickbait.
6. Duplicate headings
Duplicate headings often happen when you copy-paste templates or reuse sections across various pages. It doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it confuses search engines about which page or section is the most relevant.
Each heading should be different as it should serve a certain purpose.
How to fix it:
- Audit your website for duplicate headings (use Screaming Frog).
- Fix the duplicate headings.
- Use internal linking to connect related topics.
7. Overoptimizing headings
Overoptimizing happens when you try to show search engines too much of what your page is about. At this point, you’re writing for search engines and not for your audience. You might have too many exact-match phrases, overly complex wording or repetitive structures.
How to fix it:
- Write for humans first.
- Only use your keyword one time.
- Keep it conversational but authoritative.
