HTML codes can be used for multiple
purposes. HTML header tags
(<H1>,
<H2>, <H3>, etc.) are more than
a quick way to format text. Use them to
define your page's organizational structure
and simplify page navigation. Well-written
header text informs visitors and helps them
navigate through your page - maybe keeping
them at your site longer. Effective header
tags will even increase your site ranking
on some search engines.
Outline Your Document
Don't confuse header tags with the HEAD
section of your Web page. Header tags
belong in the BODY section of your
document. Use the HEAD section for your
TITLE and META tags.
Think of header tags like the main section
headers in a term paper outline. The major
points go in larger text while subheadings
appear underneath in smaller text. Here's
a sample of header text size:
The most important header tag is the
<H1> tag: its content should
approximate the content in your document
TITLE. Use the subheadings under the
<H1> tag to indicate different
document sections.
Provide A Page Map
Use header tags as a navigational aid on
long pages to help visitors quickly scan
page content. They can easily determine
where new topics are introduced and find
what they're interested in.
<H1>Chinese and Thai Cooking Classes: Recipes,
foods, and more!</H1>
<H2>Chinese Cooking Classes</H2>
<H3>Chinese Recipes: Mandarin and
Cantonese</H3>
<H3>Chinese Food Preparation</H3>
<H2>Thai Cooking Classes</H2>
<H3>Thai Recipes</H3>
<H3>Thai Food Preparation</H3>
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Note that the section headers incorporate
keywords and keyword phrases you would
probably want to use in your META tag:
Thai, Chinese, Thai cooking, Chinese
cooking, Thai recipes, etc. That's a good
way to increase keyword frequency on your
page without spamming.
This page structure divides the page into
sections so visitors can scan it easily.
If the page is long, consider using anchor
tags for internal page navigation. Then a
visitor interested in Thai recipes could
jump there immediately.
Easy navigation helps keep visitors on your
site longer. They can quickly find what
they need and avoid the frustration of
getting "lost" on the site.
Grab Visitors' Attention
People don't read the same way online as
they do in print. They're more apt to scan
a document quickly and move on if it
doesn't catch their interest. Web site
visitors use document headings and
subheadings to scan the page for
interesting content.
Long pages full of unbroken text look
pretty boring online, so use header tags to
pique visitors' interest in your content
sections. Header content describes what's
on your page, so make sure it's descriptive
and compelling.
"Become A Volunteer" is a pretty
dry section header for a community service
organization's Web site. "How You Can
Help Abused Children" describes the
content in more personal terms - and tells
visitors what their reward will be.
Some Search Engine Spiders Use Them
But remember that you can also use header
tags to appeal to search engines. Some
search engines analyze text inside header
tags and use it to rank Web pages. They
assume that anything important enough to
put in larger text is also relevant to the
page's content.
The <H1> tag is by far the most
important: it describes the purpose of the
whole site. Search engine spiders will use
it to score your page's relevancy. Make it
a more succinct version of your page's
TITLE tag and include important keywords.
The sub headers decline in importance
relative to their size, but they're still
useful: be sure you include keywords there
too.
Never use header tags as a substitute for
the FONT tag. Use FONT tags or Cascading
Style Sheets to emphasize words on your
site. A search engine spider that finds
this code:
would assume that your page is about
"Enroll Now" and not about a
cooking class or volunteer training
session.
Although your header text is the logical
place to include keywords, don't neglect
your page content. Even search engines
that don't place more weight on keywords in
header text use keyword frequency as part
of the page's overall score. Sprinkle
keywords and their synonyms liberally
throughout your text and inside many HTML
codes.
But be reasonable too. You don't want your
content to sound stilted or repetitive.
Too much repetition may get your page
penalized both by visitors and search
engines!
