SEO Techniques: Heading Tags for HubPages or any Website
81Create an SEO Strategy
Anyone who has ever created a website with the goal of gaining traffic through search engines organically (not through sponsored ads or other means) understands the paramount importance of search engine optimization, better known as SEO.
No matter the reason for wanting increased traffic - to make money on HubPages, to sell products on a website, to persuade readers to join a cause - every organization should have an SEO strategy.
An SEO checklist organizes important SEO techniques
SEO Checklist
It is a very good idea to formalize the SEO strategy, whether the website in question is for a large corporation or for an author on HubPages. An SEO checklist is particularly helpful for individuals that create websites independently, including hubs.
A good SEO checklist will include:
- research keywords
- choose a variety of relevant keywords and rank their importance
- develop an outline or structure for the website or hub*
- create the website or hub, making sure to include some relevant keywords and their natural variations, heading tags, and other seo techniques
- promote the website or hub
The focus of this article is on heading tags and how they can be used to develop an outline or structure for the website or hub.* Heading tags are part of the HTML source code that search bots (search engine robots that crawl and read code) "see" and can be based off a simple outline or webpage structure.
Headings break up text making it easier to find information
Headings create a website structure, helping search bots store contents
Heading tags make it easier to find information quickly
Headings make it easy for people to read a website or hub page.
Example 1: Imagine going to a restaurant and opening the menu only to see menu item after menu item listed one after the other without any division. The headings for appetizers, soups & salads, main courses, desserts, and drinks are nowhere to be found. It makes it very difficult to read and find anything!
Example 2: Imagine opening a magazine and eagerly turning to the cover story. The title is there, but the rest is just column after column of plain text, page after page. Subtitles in bold lettering, or important highlighted quotes are nowhere to be found. Not only is it difficult to read, but most readers will close it.
I think the point is made. The human eye needs a visual break from endless text, and needs headings and subheadings to create a website structure for easy reading or scanning.
Headings make it easy for search bots to read a website or hub page.
The two examples above also apply to search bots. A website or hub without headings and subheadings is just a bunch of run-on text. If it looks awful to the human eye in a browser, then the source code looks awful to a search bot too.
Headings make it easy for search bots to store a website or hub page.
Example: Imagine just throwing the last ten years' of tax returns loosely into a filing cabinet drawer and then trying to quickly retrieve the w2 statement for 2003. It would be quite a slow and chaotic hunt. But if the tax returns are each put into their own labeled folder by year, it would be a snap to retrieve that particular form.
And that's how it is with search bots. The structure and organization that heading tags in the HTML code provide, not only make it easier to store a website's contents, but perhaps retrieve them from the index more systematically.
Headings are added to HubPages using the text capsule
Including heading tags in a HubPage or website is simple!
What are heading tags?
Heading tags are HTML tags that go into the source code of every web page. Heading tags follow a hierarchy starting with H1 and going through H6, with H1 being the most important. Think of H1 as the title of an article and H2 as a subtitle. H3 headings are then sub-subtitles.
How to add them to a HubPage:
It is not necessary to know HTML in order to include heading tags in a hub article.
- H1 tags: The title of each hub automatically becomes heading 1.
- H2 tags: Capsule subtitles, as well as poll questions, automatically become heading 2s.
Another way to add heading tags is by selecting them from the text capsule's dropdown list. HTML experts also may choose to add them by using the HTML link, also provided in each text capsule.
How to add heading tags to other websites:
If you are coding html directly, add heading tags like this:
- <h1>Website Title</h1>
- <h2>Website Subtitles</h2>
More about H1 tags
Number of H1 tags allowed:
Websites and HubPages should only have one Heading 1 tag. In fact, HubPages will not allow more than one title which generates the H1 tag.
Keywords in H1 tags:
The title entered in HubPages, which is coded as H1, should in fact represent the subject of the hub. The most pertinent keywords should be used here, and in terms of SEO, it is probably a good idea to make them the first words.
More about H2 tags
Number of H2 tags allowed:
There is no limit as to the number of H2 tags that can be put into a website or HubPage. Think of it like a book - there is only one title on the cover (H1) but there can be limitless chapter titles (H2). Use as many H2 tags as it takes to make a good and logical structure for both people and search bots to follow.
Keywords in H2 tags:
Like H1 tags, H2 tags should also contain keywords. Just do not use the same exact keywords or keyword phrases over and over. Recall, heading tags are about creating a logical and easy-to-read structure for people and search bots.
Website structure for the text of this article
This article contains H1, H2 and H3 headings. Look back over all the bold headings in this article above, trying to notice the the website structure as outlined below.
Here is the type of tag used for each heading in this website:
- H1 - SEO Techniques: Heading Tags for HubPages or Any Website
- H2 - Create an SEO Strategy
- H2 - SEO Checklist
- H3 - A Good SEO Checklist will include:
- H2 - Heading tags make it easier to find information quickly
- H3 - Headings make it easy for people to read a website or hub page.
- H3 - Headings make it easy for search bots to read a website or hub page.
- H3 - Headings make it easy for search bots to store a website or hub page.
- H2 - Including heading tags in a HubPage or website is simple
- H3 - What are heading tags?
- H3 - How to add them to HubPages
- H3 - How to add headings to other websites
- H2 - More about H1 tags
- H3 - Number of H1 tags allowed
- H3 - Keywords in H1 tags
- H2 - More about H2 tags
- H3 - Number of H2 tags allowed
- H3 - Keywords in H2 tags
- 10 SEO Tips for Backlinks
Increase your website traffic by following these off-page search engine optimization - seo tips for backlinks. - Video SEO: Jump to the Top of Google Results!
Video SEO should be part of every search marketing strategy. Video search results often rank high, making it easier to get to the top of Google.
Other SEO Hubs by KTrapp
- Google SEO: Simple as Black & White
Learn Google SEO best practices and avoid losing website traffic to Google updates like Panda or Penguin. - Google SEO: Content Above the Fold
Page layout, including internet ads and content above-the-fold matters when it comes to Google SEO. Learn how to avoid being penalized by Google's page layout algorithm.
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Comments for Heading Tags and a Hub's Website StructureLoading...
Billabongbob, Thank you for the votes and compliment. I am so glad that you will be able to apply this information to your hubs. That's what I was hoping for.
Wow, very nice! You take this complicated stuff and make it sound so easy. I am learning so much from these articles. I think you're a natural born teacher. Thanks!!
Well thank you prairieprincess. I am so thrilled to know that my work is going to good use. And trust me, so many of these seo and html tips for hubpages, that I have been writing about ARE easy. It's just sometimes they're unknown.
Thank you once again for your positive words.
Thanks for putting this in perspective with your book analogy. Makes perfect sense.
CWanamaker - You're welcome. I'm glad the book analogy was helpful to you.
Well done on this great Hub, I must do more work on improving my SEO on my articles/Hubs! This is definitely a massive help towards my goals here as well!
I am glad I could help drspaniel. Thanks for reading.
Duh! After over a year doing online work, I've been looking for someone to 'splain (as in Ricky Ricardo/Desi Arnaz in "I Love Lucy" reruns) this to me. Thank you, k! I have bookmarked this gem and given in a vote up for being useful, interesting and AWESOME. There! We have something in common now other than designated drivers and beagles with separation anxiety.
Funny as always Arlene. I bet you get a lot more funny votes than me with my ever-so-useful hubs. But I'm glad this explanation of headings helped explain something that you have not been able to find an answer to. Didn't it go, "Lucy, you got a lot of 'splainin to do?"
Hahahahaha. There you go, k. And thanks again for the precious info.
You inspired me to get my HTML book out and actually read it. I love reading and that one book I have ignored.
Fantastic hub to inspire those of us who desire to drive traffic - either to our hubs or to both our hubs and our websites.
Thank you!
GmaGoldie - A little basic HTML can go a long way. Happy Reading.
Sounds like very good advice not that I totally understand all of it...but I am learning. Thanks for the lesson. I do know to break up articles with other capsules to make it appear more interesting and user friendly.
Thanks for commenting Peggy. Each time you break up your text into capsules, in my opinion, it not only makes it more visually appealing, but it does provide an opportunity to add heading tags by giving each capsule a sub-title.
Hi ktrapp! This is an amazing hub and very informative -
Very glad to include a link to this hub in my latest hub - Grab That Traffic!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talents!
Well thank you missolive. I am always happy to share the knowledge I've gained from many years of developing websites. I really appreciate the fact that you have included a link to this hub in yours - which I am about to go find and read. The importance of heading tags for SEO is an often-overlooked subject, so I hope your inclusion of this hub helps spread the word.
Hi ktrapp, I'd just like to thank you for this very useful information. I have been trying to learn as much as I can about SEO recently, and have read a lot of the subject (through hubpages) and funnily enough, got a lot of good information out of your last commenter (missolive) but I haven't seen or at least understood and seen this information anywhere! Really really useful, and I will now start to go back through my hubs and apply this logic. (It does make a lot of sense). So thank you for these tips and for being so informative. You have certainly won me as a follower, and I look forward to looking through more of your articles. Voted up and 'useful'. Thanks :)
Chuckbl - You are so very welcome. It seems like you are on an SEO learning journey, and what a good thing to do in your early weeks of hub-writing.
Writing great articles simply is not enough; they need to be ranked well by search engines and then found by people. Adding heading tags with variations of keywords is an easy way to not only make your hubs more search-engine friendly, but also more readable to humans.
Please let me know if you have any questions or points that I can clarify. Best wishes. ~ Kristin
Haha thanks ktrapp, that's very kind although you may regret it!! I think there could be many questions once I'm done...
I am still learning about keywords and traffic. This hub is very helpful. I am wondering about subtitles now. I have some hubs that seem to do so much better than others. I think I will be revising them. Thanks for the info!! Voted up, useful, awesome, and interesting. :-)
Subtitles/headings really are helpful with seo. My opinion is that having keywords in your url (the web address of the hub) and the title (which is the main heading H1) are the two most critical places to have keywords.
I think you might be really interested in reading the hub I wrote: making money online with hubpages: 3 hubs that get lots of search traffic. The hub analyzes 3 specific hubs and how they use keywords effectively.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks for the advice, KTrapp! I will read your other hubs because I haven't made any money yet. LOL I love learning how to do things. I am worried that my Adsense is set up wrong. I hardly ever get a click. I think I may need to take a class. Again, thanks for your help. I will be checking in. :-)
Sholland10, If you think you might be having trouble with setting up Adsense you might want to ask about it in the forums. You will probably get some really good answers there.
I have my earnings set up for the HubPages earnings program. I think a lot of people find that they earn more that way, than with just Adsense alone. The HubPages earning program pays by impressions, not just clicks. So, if your hubs are being found due to good SEO then you should begin to make money for ad impressions. But like I said, ask about it in the forums because there are people who have been around a lot longer than myself who can give you a fuller answer.
Again, thanks. I'm signed up for both. Do you just have your profile on Adsense or do you add each hub? I only have my profile. I make about .50 - $1 a day (sometimes less) on HP earnings. Never enough to pay out. Patience is a virtue and knowledge is power. :-)
Sholland10 - Once you sign up for one of the programs, that's it. You don't have to do anything with individual hubs. In addition, to good SEO it obviously helps to have lots of hubs. I plan on increasing the number of hubs in my "portfolio" a lot this year.
Very good information for us beginners. Thank you for sharing! Voted up and useful.
sgbrown - I'm so glad you find this information as you begin on HubPages. If you scroll up to the "other articles" section, I would recommend reading the hubs : "Getting Hits on HubPages - How to Use Keywords in All the Right Places" and "Make Money Online with HubPages - 3 Hubs that Get Lots of Search Traffic." Best wishes.
Yet another thing I didn't understand and you've made it clear. I've wondered the significance of each heading to search engines. It just makes sense now. Thanks again.
Tams R - I'm glad I could help give you a glimpse on how search engines view headings. Don't you love it when things start to make sense? Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
ktrapp, you are an invaluable resource for me! Thank you so much for putting these things in laymen terms. I'm going to revise many of my hubs now. Thanks again! Kelley Voted up and shared!
This really makes a lot of sense. Very helpful. I really didn't know that even the poll titles counted in a search. Voted up and shared!
Great hub! The way in which you've explained heading tags and the importance of them makes so much sense.
Great explanation of why and how to use heading tags to increase hub traffic.
I liked the way you incorporated this whole hub as an example.
Voted up, useful, awesome and interesting.
You're welcome Kelley. I'm glad to provide you with some SEO pointers to go along with your great content.
Thanks Happyboomernurse. Headings tags are easy enough to use and quite frankly make a hub so much more pleasing to the eye, in addition to providing a roadmap for readers and search engines. Thanks for the comment and generous votes.
Just Ask Susan - I think many people only understand the impact using headings can have on the "look and feel" of a website, so I'm glad to make sense of the search engine optimization impact they can have as well. Thanks for your comment.
Rebecca - Good to know this all makes sense. Thanks for your vote and for sharing.
Thanks for the tips, this hub has been very helpful
You're welcome dobo700. I'm glad to help.
billabongbob Level 3 Commenter 8 months ago
Another great hub :D
Very detailed and useful. I actually learnt something that I can go ahead an apply.
Thank you for posting this ;). Voted up, interesting and useful.