Header Tags

Headers, or headings, provide both search engines and users with an outline of a page’s content by grouping together copy into more digestible segments, and make the page more scannable. Headings should be brief and clearly expressed; be mindful of narrow screens where text might wrap to another line.

Do not apply any formatting like bold, italic or underline to headings - they have already been formatted for consistency across the university site. Read some tips on how to write high quality headings.

For headings: select Format > Formats > Headings

Use only:

Heading 2 (sub-head)
Heading 3 (sub-sub-head)

H1s in TerminalFour

H1 headings in TerminalFour are generated from the name you have given your section. You will never have to set an H1 in your content. Content headings start with H2.

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What are header tags, written tutorial

What are header tags?

When you plug content for a web page into your CMS, you have options for tagging chunks of text as H2. Essentially, these are different types of headers and they are important for SEO. There are other heading tags beyond these, such as H3, H4, H5, and H6, but they are not incredibly helpful for SEO. The H1 carries the most weight when it comes to ranking power, followed by the H2. Basically, they descend by importance. The H1 is the main header, while the H2 is the subheader. While each page should only have one H1, it can have multiple H2s, which are best used as section headers within the body of your text. Think of it this way: the headers provide both search engines and users with an outline of a page’s content.

In recent years, there has been some skepticism regarding just how much of a factor header tags are in Google’s ranking algorithm. Some believe that their importance has diminished with time. However, when we think about header tags from a user experience point of view, it becomes clear that using headers is still a best practice.

When searchers click on a result in the SERP, they expect to find exactly what they are looking for when they land on the web page. For this reason, it is important that you have a header and subheaders that speak directly to the keywords that the searcher used in their query to find you. If they get to the page and see nothing immediately relevant to their search, then they will click the back button. This will register as a bounce, which will negatively affect your search engine visibility.

Keeping headings and content consistent

Keep in mind that content is the most important search visibility factor and headers are part of the content of a web page. That’s why it is important not to neglect header tags for your web pages. For the best optimization, be sure that the content of your header tags lines up with the information in the body text, as well as the title tags and meta descriptions. This kind of alignment ensures the best search engine visibility.

Source: Carnegie Dartlet

Because this T4 user bolded their text instead of using headings, the screen reader sees the the links on the right column as the only headings, so if someone tabs through the content, they would skip through most of the content which would be very confusing.