How to Establish The Heading Hierarchy in Blog Posts

Yaren Akbaba - 07 February 2023

SEO & Content Specialist

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

“When it comes to text on a page, a heading is a really strong signal telling us this part of the page is about this topic.”[1] said John Mueller, Google Search Advocate. And, he’s right but there is more: A heading conveys the topic of the content to not only us but also to search engines that determine what we are more likely to see at the top positions of search engine results pages.

A clear heading-subheading hierarchy is essential in a blog post for several reasons. For starters, it makes the content easier for the reader to read and understand. A well-structured heading-subheading hierarchy makes it easier for the reader to locate the information they are looking for and follow the flow of the post by breaking down the content into smaller sections. Furthermore, it aids search engines in crawling the content and comprehending the structure of the blog post, which can result in improved search engine optimization (SEO) and increased visibility in search results.

What is the Heading-Subheading Hierarchy?

The hierarchy of headings and subheadings in a written document, such as a blog post, is how headings and subheadings are organized to divide content into sections and make it easier for readers to understand.

Heading

The primary content divisions in a document are the main headings, which provide an overview of the topics covered in each section. The main headings' purpose is to structure and organize the content, making it easier for readers to follow the flow of the document and find the information they seek. They also assist search engines in comprehending the structure of the document, which can improve its visibility in search results. In short, main headings are an important part of the heading-subheading hierarchy and play an important role in improving a document's readability, organization, and searchability.

Subheadings

Subheadings are secondary divisions within a document's content that provide additional detail and structure to the main headings. They are commonly formatted the same way as main headings, but with a smaller font or lighter weight. Subheadings are used to divide content into smaller, more manageable sections, making it easier for readers to understand the relationships between various pieces of information.

Setting up the Right Heading-Subheading Hierarchy

Creating a clear heading-subheading hierarchy requires careful planning and organization of a document's structure. To do so, a writer must have a rough mental outline of the text, understand how to divide the text into meaningful chunks, and identify the appropriate expressions to include in the subheadings. Let's look more closely at what you should do to have a well-organized blog.

Before Writing

Before you begin writing, it's crucial to define the structure of your blog post in order to have an organized structure of headings and subheadings. Making an outline of the key subjects you want to address and breaking the content down into useful sections are part of this phase. Before starting to write, make sure to go over the following stages.

• Answer these questions: What is the whole message or point you want to make? What do you want your readers to learn or take away from the post?
• Identify the main topics you want to cover and decide which topics or sub-topics are relevant to your content's main purpose.
• Make sure the structure is logical and easy to follow: Ensure that the headings and subheadings follow a logical progression and that the content is divided into sections that are easy for readers to understand.
• Use h2 for the main divisions and h3, h4, etc. to break down the content further

Using clear and consistent formatting for headings and subheadings is important in establishing a well-formed heading-subheading hierarchy. The formatting should be visually distinct from the body text and consistent throughout the document to help readers quickly identify headings and subheadings and follow the structure of the content.

Use the same font size, weight, and style for all headings and subheadings: Consistency is key, so make sure to use the same font size, weight, and style for all headings and subheadings throughout the document.

Using the Correct HTML Tags

Headings in HTML are defined using different levels of heading tags, such as h1, h2, h3, and so on. It is essential to use the correct heading tag for each level of heading in your blog post to establish the heading-subheading hierarchy.

• h1 tag: This tag is reserved for the main title of your blog post and should be used only once per page.
• h2 tag: This tag is used for the main divisions or sections of your post. Use h2 tags for the headings that divide your content into the main sections.
• h3, h4, etc.: These tags are used to break down the content further, into sub-sections. Use h3 for the first level of subheadings, h4 for the next level, and so on.
  

Relevance of the Headings

It is critical to ensure that the headings and subheadings correspond to the purpose and concept of the content they are outlining. The headings and subheadings should accurately reflect the content they outline and assist the reader in navigating the content in a logical and meaningful manner.

A writer needs to convey the idea that is expressed in the body text in a couple of words and involve these words in the subheading. And also, the writer should not forget to include keywords in both the heading and the subheadings.

Heading Hierarchy and SEO

Compared to messy content lacking the correct flow of ideas and a firm structure, a well-organized blog post is the type of content that Google favors and shows to users. It’s because headings and subheadings help not only the users but also search engines read and get what the content is about. It is no surprise that an ill-organized blog can’t get a high ranking on SERP. If Googlebot doesn’t find the content useful due to its lacking of logical flow and readability, the content is not likely to be listed on the favorable positions on the result page.

Keywords in Headings and Subheadings

One of the critical factors that make it simpler for users and search engines to understand the content is the usage of keywords in subheadings. Keywords are at the disposal of content writers to include in not only the body texts but also the headings and subheadings.

Sources

1. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/on-page-seo/header-tags/#close
2. https://seobuddy.com/blog/headings-and-subheadings/
3. https://www.contentkingapp.com/academy/headings/
4. https://yoast.com/how-to-use-headings-on-your-site/#using-your-keyphrase-in-the-subheadings