To get any page on your website to rank on page 1 of Google, you need 100s of things to work right, but missing out on H1 headers is a big mistake. We’ll go over exactly what you or your agency should do for each page to make sure that your H1 header help you rank faster, drive more traffic, and produce more leads.
Your H1 header should be clear and concise and include your main keyword—what people are searching for. For example, HVAC businesses is "Professional HVAC Installation & Repair in [Your City]." This tells search engines exactly what your page is about, helping you rank for local customers looking for HVAC services.
Think of the H1 header like a title—you wouldn't put two titles on the cover of your favorite book, would you? Stick with one H1 header per page. Also, don’t reuse the same H1 heading for other headers; this is called keyword stuffing, and Google will make your page disappear faster than a cheap home improvement prospect looking for the lowest bid.
Your H1 should match the rest of the page. For example, if you’re discussing roofing replacements, don’t use a heading about new roof installations. If your page discusses lawn maintenance, try: "Top Lawn Maintenance Services for a Beautiful Yard in [Your Area]." This keeps things relevant for the searchers
and search engines
When you click on a website link, it loads with a title at the top. The first words you see at the top are the H1 heading. These words are the most critical thing about the entire page. An H1 header helps Google understand what your page is about, meaning you’re more likely to show up on the first page of search results—and it tells the reader to stay or bounce.
Let’s find out why and how to improve the SEO compliance of your H1 headers and the pages’ headers.
No website should require you to edit the HTML to change the header, but if it does this is how you do it. Click the HTML, find the H1 tag / content, and replace it as so.
<h1>Professional Roofing Services in [City Name]</h1>
If you’re thinking, “All of this sounds great, but I have no idea how to edit my website!”—don’t worry; you’re not alone. Website builders today make it easy for beginners, business owners, and even agencies like us to edit and optimize sites without needing a degree in computer science.
One of the best website builders for SEO optimization is Duda. Duda is user-friendly, designed with SEO in mind, and perfect for local businesses like yours. Whether you’re in gutters, roofing, HVAC, or landscaping, Duda makes adding H1 headers, updating your content, and optimizing for search engines straightforward. Plus, the intuitive drag-and-drop interface means you can make changes quickly without worrying about breaking your website. Our agency only builds and rebuilds websites in Duda because of these features.
When optimizing your website, it's crucial to ensure that your H1 header is not identical to your page title or meta description (see image below for example within a website builder). While it's important that they all convey the same core message, they should each serve a slightly different purpose to avoid redundancy and enhance your SEO.
For example, if you’re a roofing company:
By differentiating these elements, you help search engines better understand the structure of your content. You also provide potential customers with more information, making them more likely to click on your link.
To stay competitive, it's smart to audit the top-ranking competitors for your local keywords. When you search for your target keyword on Google, like "Albuquerque roofing company," look closely at the H1 headers used by the websites that rank on the first page. Doing so will help you understand what’s working in your market.
While it can be tempting to copy an effective H1 header simply, it's often better to modify or tweak it to make it unique to your brand. Ensure that your H1 is compelling while including the main keyword phrase exactly as it was identified in your keyword research. This helps maintain relevance while also differentiating your service from the competition.
If the intent is information, the visitor is looking to learn. Commercial intent means they want to buy, hire, and complete a form for a product or service. They want to buy or give information for a callback or appointment if it is commercial. If it is navigational, the header should be like a directory of all additional pages to choose from, like “Explore Our Reno Roofing Services.”
Once you've got your H1 header in place, ensure all additional headers H3 through H6 are in chronological order so that Google can crawl the page more easily and help you rank faster. The image above shows how the H2 goes below the H1.
Once you've got your H1 header in place, ensure all additional headers H3 through H6 are in chronological order so that Google can crawl the page more easily and help you rank faster. The image above shows how the H2 goes below the H1.
In the photo below, you see that the H3 is directly below the H2 header.
Pro TIPS: Avoid using H5 and H6 headers. While they help your overall page’s ranking and SEO structure, your content will likely be hard to comprehend if you have to use an H5 or H6 header. Keep your content clear, quick, and easy to say yes to.
When you’re ready to publish your page or blog, don’t overlook the importance of assigning the right URL. The URL should include your target keyword to help improve SEO and boost your chances of ranking higher. This means using the exact keyword phrase you identified during your keyword research.
In the image below you can see the page is about rain gutters and downspouts, with the keyword term “rain gutters” in the URL.
Don’t want to deal with all this SEO stuff yourself? No problem. That’s what we're here for at Talents Into Profits. We build, design, write, and optimize websites for local businesses in 10 business days or less for a fraction of the cost of those big agencies because we’ve been doing this for almost 20 years and our AI software helps us get it done faster with faster results.
Our Promise. No pushy sales. Just a friendly discussion about you, your company, struggles, needs, goals, timelines, and we offer FREE and paid solutions. At the very least you get more knowledge.
Talents Into Profits is based in Sparks, NV (just outside of Reno), but we service local businesses nationwide. We have spent 20 years building businesses through strategic sales and marketing focused on operational efficiencies. With training in digital marketing, website design, SEO, reputation management, online lead generation, referral generation, client management, and AI software, we have built a company where AI handles 90% of our workload, allowing us to offer highly discounted rates with no long-term commitments for our customers. As part of our partnership, we never work with a direct competitor of yours. If you're seeking fast, affordable, local marketing solutions, let's arrange a free marketing audit and meet to determine if we fit your ongoing growth.
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