Choosing effective titles and subtitles make your articles interesting and easy to read for your readers, but did you know that creating titles (headings) and subtitles (subheadings) correctly is also a powerful way to optimize the SEO for your articles?
Well written and SEO optimized articles get the highest rankings, as your copy-write will appeal to both readers and the search engines.
People Read Titles, Bots Read Header Tags
Essentially, titles and headings are synonymous.
Text Title: “Using Titles and Subtitles…”
Same Title with Tags: <h2>”Using Titles and Subtitles</h2>
Titles are what we write. Titles get marked/coded for the search engines to understand. This translation takes place automatically as you are writing in WordPress and most other CMS or HTML generators.
Headings are simply the text title marked by code called header tags. There are technically 6 header tags. We only care about H1 and H2 tags. 3-6 are not very practicle to use.
H1 is the title and is the most important SEO element of your article. This is the same as the title of your article. Subtitles are designated as H2 tags and are the second most important SEO value in your article.
Use a Keyword in the Title
Your title, and therefore your header (H1) should contain your keyword. Your keyword is basically the main subject of the blog post. For instance, if I am writing an article about bicycles, my title should contain the keyword bicycles.
“Why I love Bicylces” is much better than “Why I Love My New Gift.”
In this case, the computer will look for text bracketed by the H1 tags. The H1 tag, or title tag, alerts the bots that this article is about bicycles. Google will then index my article under “bicycles.”
Choosing Subtitles
It’s a great idea to break up your post into different sections. Each section should have a subtitle. Use either the same keyword or phrases in the subtitle that relate to the title!
This is not always easy, but let’s try these subheadings for our imaginary article on bicycles;
- “Bicycles Last Forever”
- “Environmentally Friendly Transportation”
- “Low Cost Commuting”
These might be poorer choices because they say nothing inherent about bicycles. While they may have nuances about bicycles, computers don’t understand nuances (neither does a reader skimming vertically through your article);
- “It’s the Best Value for the Money!”
- “Saves the Planet”
- “Easy on the Wallet!”
Where to Place the H1 and H2 Tags?
Translating to HTML tags is done automatically by most programs as we write.
Depending upon the program, you may need to manually install the H1 information, that is, you may need to type the actual title you want used as the Title.
Too many websites and too many webpages are missing Titles!
Make sure each and every article has a title!
Where to Check the HTML?
Right click your mouse on any webpage and choose “view source.” This is the HTML. This is the version of your article the search engines read and understand!
You may also try a free analytics program, such as www.pearanalytics.com to search your site for a title.
To Your Growth And Success!
Randy
Randall V. Wong, M.D.
Medical Website Optimization
www.MedicalMarketingEnterprises.com
