29 replies to this topic

[SEO FF]

I always remember reading about page theme and the terms in the title tag relating to the H1 tags which should relate to the content of the page. In as many instances as possible, I made the title tag and the H1 tag the same, including keywords but not spammy and stuffed. I've adopted the long tail approach as it gives me more of an opportunity to target more terms. Although the title tag would generally accommodate more terms, I tried to duplicate the title in the H1 tag but kept it natural looking. So if the title of the page was "Long Shiny Blue Widgets in El Paso", the H1 tag would be the same. Some Titles are slightly longer while others are smaller, but the title and H1 tag match most of the time.

I'm beginning to re-think this process and I may not have made the right choice. I need someone to set me straight on page theme and what it means to you and if it's advisable to make the H1 tag the same as the title tag. If not, how do you determine what your H1 tag should be if you are targeting more than 1 keyword on a page?

I've always kept the search engines in the back of my mind when working on the site but in this instance, I think I may have thought too much about them.

[Randy]

I honestly don't think I have a single title tag that is the same as the h1 for that page. Sure they're similar because they both relate to the content on the page and may even contain some of the same keywords, but to me they have two slightly different functions so are different.

[SEO FF]

Yeah

I feel like a dope b/c I had a strange interpretation of page theme. Granted, these pages are not long enough for any other sub headings but I feel completely lost on this subject. It hit me like a ton of bricks today that I have been doing this wrong for years.

Perhaps I need a new interpretation of page theme, the use of title tags and the use of H1 tags................. ugh

[piskie]

Maybe a further question should be:
"Is it any detriment if the Title Tag and the H1 Tag are absolutely identical".

[maleman]

SEO FF
IMHO, unless you have powerful backlinks, on-page optimization is the most important factor in ranking a page.

I try to find a balance that works across-the-board for all search engines. It's a trial and error thing. My suggestion is to experiment with your on-page optimization until you find a strategy that works.

[SEO FF]

The site is not doing bad and ranks fairly well across the board. Of course, one is always seeking to improve their rankings. It was just an epiphany that I may have this all wrong. Page theme and the proper use for the H1 tag that is. I've always thought it was supposed to be the same to create page theme.

I was looking at a site today and noticed the title tag was 4-5 keywords while the headings of the pages were not the same and were 2 words or the main keywords from the title. Reflecting and looking at my site, they are identical 95% of the time.

I know at times i've been guilty of focusing too much on the search engines. After drawing this potential conclusion, I wanted to get others views on creating page theme and how you do it and what H1's should be (keyword rich, just a basic heading, etc.). I feel like I've completely forgotten one of the simple rules of SEO.

One of my next questions would be what piskie has asked as well as providing an example of a title tag with multiple keywords being targeted and what you would use as your H1 tag? This certainly has me baffled... lol

[mal4mac]

If you want to make the <h1> the same as <title> then I see no reason why you should not do that. Google may differ though! Spammers can more easily auto-generate pages by making <h1> and <title> the same, so you might get caught in "friendly fire". So it might be worth experimenting ( a page at a time) to see if you can boost the ranking by making <title> and <h1> different. I wouldn't make a global change though!

[Jill]

Ideally, I would not want them to be the same. But if for some reason that's how it has to be in the CMS it's doable. But it really limits what you can do with your Title tags because they don't need to be a nice readable headline like whatever you have in your H tag should be.

[bwelford]

I believe there is no disadvantage in having them the same although you miss an opportunity.

If you are working with WordPress, then you can use a plug-in like the All-in-one-SEO Pack to make them different. I always do so. I always think of the headline ( <h1> ) as being for my human visitors and the Title as being for the search engine algorithms. However since it's the Title that appears on the SERP for a keyword query, you have got to make sure it also will attract the click from the keyword searcher.

[SEO FF]

Mal, I am certainly going to test this out and see if there are any advantages to be had, thanks.

Jill, I may be limited as the CMS may now be included to use the same H1 as the title tag. I will have to probe deeper into it.

Bwel, I don't believe this is hurting me in any way but there is no sure way to tell unless I run a few tests. I've been wanting to rank better for a certain product and I think that will be my first test (again, If I'm able to change the two tags to be different). I also have a wordpress blog and use the same plugin but have used the same title and H1 tag in all of the posts.

On the contrary, I have noticed on one of the websites I frequent fairly often they practice the same thing. Their titles (with the exeption of their homepage) match their H1 tags and they rank well for some competitive terms.

I am now confused with the use of the H1 tag and its purpose in terms of SEO. If I had a page & my title was "Shiny Blue Widgets in El Paso," what would you put in the H1 tag? I understand its the heading about what a user is supposed to read but I would like to see the other side of things if I was to not use the same title and H1 tags.

Thanks for the continued help.

[Jill]

I am now confused with the use of the H1 tag and its purpose in terms of SEO.

Some will disagree, but in my opinion, it doesn't have a purpose in SEO. Although it might have a purpose in Google news search (someone told me that, I don't know from my own experience about that one.)

[qwerty]

Some will disagree, but in my opinion, it doesn't have a purpose in SEO. Although it might have a purpose in Google news search (someone told me that, I don't know from my own experience about that one.)

Just to clarify, Jill, my understanding of your view on this issue is that headings (larger or bolder text that introduces a page or a section of a page) matter, but you don't feel that it helps any more to have them in a heading tag than it does to do something else in the code to set them apart from the rest of the page. Is that accurate?

[maleman]

Perhaps I need a new interpretation of page theme, the use of title tags and the use of H1 tags................. ugh

IMHO, an SEO "theme" is a handshake between the title, description, text, links, images.

[Jill]

Just to clarify, Jill, my understanding of your view on this issue is that headings (larger or bolder text that introduces a page or a section of a page) matter, but you don't feel that it helps any more to have them in a heading tag than it does to do something else in the code to set them apart from the rest of the page. Is that accurate?

Yeah, kind of, but I'm not even sure about that. I think headings and headlines are good for users though.

[SEO FF]

IMHO, an SEO "theme" is a handshake between the title, description, text, links, images.

Ok... as for your interpretation, heading do not fit into that handshake?

Jill, this is an interesting stance. I know heading tags are not often discussed but I always thought it was viewed as an essential piece to on page optimization. I can see the benefits for people but maybe I've been putting way too much emphasis on heading tags thinking they were so important to have.