Should be different? This question plagues most SEOs. The whole essence of the problem lies in the fact that opinions on this issue are divided into two camps. Those who insist that they should duplicate each other, i.e. include a keyword in the same form and others who think they need to be always different.

Title and H1

Now in order. To begin with, in HTML, these two tags represent a certain area of \u200b\u200bthe page. , as we have already found out in previous articles, it should contain concise and useful information about the content of the document. H1, in turn, refers to tags that are used in text layout, and means a top-level heading. From this it becomes clear that they are quite significant and search engines pay a lot of attention when ranking a document.

As you can see, this part of the page has received a lot of attention and this concept is described in sufficient detail.

There is much less information here, but since it is still in the help, you need to take it seriously and also take care of the content of these tags. (Full document) It should be noted that if you are using micro-markup, then the H1 tag should be used exactly where it is implied by the standards. Also in the help there is information that the content of the H1 tag can get into quick links.

Now let's take a look at what Google Help has about this.

There was no official help about H1, but there are several posts on the forum of the search engine itself, where people ask questions on various problems related to the optimization and content of H1. They also indicated a link to a document containing the recommendations of a foreign search engine. Do not forget that both search engines can use H1 as a title in the SERP snippet if the page title is poorly optimized or does not satisfy the quality of search engines.

To summarize under these references, it is easy to understand that the Title tag captures the essence of the document's content, while the H1 tag highlights the main points. This may lead to the following question, do you need to select all subheadings with h1? We will answer it in another article.

Internal page optimization

Outcome

Now it's time to answer the question asked at the very beginning. So should they be different or not? Or use the same keywords in both cases when promoting?

Answer: They should almost always be different. Firstly, you and duplication, and secondly, in the top-level headings, you can use synonyms or other words that define the topic. Third, the more useful information (answering the user's questions) will be presented on the page, the higher the chance of ranking the document in the top positions.

Exception Cases. As elsewhere, there are reservations. In our case, these tags may coincide, in several cases. For example, a page is devoted to some narrow topic where there are no other interpretations and explanations, as a rule, these are dictionaries or collections of legislative documents.

Should TITLE and H1 be the same and which option is better for SEO? Are there any differences between the two headings and how should they be composed correctly? Stop looking for an answer, read this short note and make your own decision.

TITLE and H1 headings: the same or different?

Once again, on the forum su-pr.ru saw an entry about TITLE and H1. Thread Starter (TC) on his site made identical headers... According to him, positions in Yandex are in the black, and in Google the situation is ambiguous. See the screenshot from the forum.

If we try to find the answer in the search, we will see that the question was raised back in 2007. I read the answers and realized that there was no clear solution. Some sin on spam and over-optimization, while others insert synonyms keywords, others see an advantage in the same headlines - after all, somewhere they read that search engines are good about it.

I believe that there is no difference and there is no need to bother with this issue. Today, many factors influence a page's ranking. Keyword importance has long since receded into the background. "Correct and Optimized SEO Titles" that will appeal to both people and search engines is a myth.

I don't want to waste time analyzing the search results and delving into the work of algorithms, trying to find the right answer. I advise you to stop, and read this entry to the end... Let's see what is the difference between TITLE and H1, what benefits can you get in fact?

and is easily found by a search (you need to open the page code - the combination Ctrl + U, go to the tab with the code, start the search - Ctrl + F on the phrase "title").

Also, the page title is:

Displayed in the title when you open a browser tab;
- differs in meaning and purpose from the H1 tag - the title of the post on the page;
- captured by online SEO analysis services;
- indexed search robots and is taken into account when ranking;
- is pulled up at the time of repost or when adding a link to the social network;
- filled manually (through the fields of meta tags, special SEO plugins) or automatically;
- displayed in search engine results as a snippet title - a short description;
- affects the click-through rate of the site in search, and hence the traffic.

Unlike Title, the H1 tag - the first level heading - is placed in the body of the page. It is also taken into account by search algorithms when ranking and determining relevance, but has less significance. IN hierarchical structure program code the H1 tag goes below the Title but above the H2-H6 subheadings.

If you use a CMS, the Title tag in the engine is either generated automatically (the post title is taken, but in fact the content of the H1 tag) or manually created (by filling in the page meta tags through special fields or SEO plugins).

Manual filling is preferable because the webmaster:

1) Eliminates duplicate text blocks (so that Title is different from H1).
2) Inserts additional keys from the extended semantics of mid-frequency and low-frequency queries.
3) Manages the snippet titles in the SERP via Title.
4) Uses partial automation at will.
5) independently sets the order of words and punctuation marks in the Title.

Partial filling automation meta Title tag saves the webmaster's time by manually adding the same type (static or dynamic) fragments of text to the titles of all pages on the site. Automation, if desired, can add to the Title: date or year, URL home page, company name, E-mail, physical office address, telephone number.

Let's take a closer look at the objective requirements and useful recommendations for drafting Title and H1 that users and search robots will like.

Title (Tag) requirements

1. There should not be two identical Title within the site.
2. The tag cannot be used on the page 2 times (each page has only 1 main heading).
3. The presence of keys from the semantic core in the headers has a positive effect on SEO (if there is no overspam, otherwise -).
4. When filling in the tag, use letters, numbers, punctuation marks, special characters.
5. The length of the Title can be different, but it is visually limited when generating the output to about 7-8 words (54-64 characters without spaces), followed by an ellipsis. At the same time, the search engines themselves decide what to show and what to hide.
6. Keywords, if possible, should be placed in the first part of the meta tag, closer to the beginning.
7. Search engines "read" the Title completely, even if it is cut off in snippets.
8. Long page titles are useful for medium and low frequency queries.
9. It is advisable not to use in Title more than 2 repetitions of one word, as well as "crooked" illogical keys.
10. The title of the page should be meaningful, readable and attractive to the visitors (do not use a thoughtless list of all the semantic keys).
11. Stop symbols (dots, hyphens, commas, slashes, quotes, brackets) are used to separate keywords and semantic segments.
12. Key phrases it is better to use before the start of stop symbols, where their importance is higher.
13. Stop words in the title ("to", "to", "from", "from", "under") affect the ranking in Yandex.
14. The Title title is made taking into account the specifics of the site, the features of promotion and traffic attraction channels (for example, if the source of referrals is a mailing list, the title should be intriguing or "viral", if it is a search, the emphasis is on SEO and).
15. When filling in tags, remember that they are pulled up on social networks, are displayed in snippets and influence users' decisions to click on links.
16. If possible, the Title should be unique throughout the Internet.
17. To increase conversions, add motivating calls (click, order now, read, etc.).

Do not forget - errors in filling Title and oversaturation (overspam) with keys lead to problems with ranking!

Requirements for H1 (Header)

1. The H1 tag must be present on the page, but not more than once.
2. The heading of the first level does not duplicate the Title, but intersects with it by keywords.
3. The content of the tag sometimes ends up in search snippets as a Description.
4. Optimal H1 supplements, semantically and informationally extends the meta Title tag.
5. The presence of keywords in the tag has a positive effect on SEO (if there is no general overspam).
6. The content of the title must be readable, relevant to the content.
7. The tag should not use meaningless enumeration of keywords and exact "curves" of occurrences.
8. There are no requirements for the length H1, but it should be moderate and reasonable. Inserting all the text on a page in a first-level heading tag is fraught with serious trouble.
9. According to the hierarchical structure, H1 comes before the H2-H6 tags and is more significant. Keep track of your site's heading hierarchy, don't put H1 after H2-H6.
10. When correct setting SEO-functions CMS tag is generated automatically - taken from the title of the post on the page.
11. Usually, the H1 tag is visually emphasized in the text more large print or color, used at the beginning of content.
12. H1 does not need to be underlined, italicized, bold, or Strong tags.
13. Do not use identical H1s on different pages site (to avoid confusion and the so-called "cannibalization of keys").

After optimization, recheck the page with any of the online SEO analytical services so that the Title and H1 tags, along with the description and content, are not spammed by keywords in total.

Supplement but not duplicate.

In general, duplication of Title and H1 is allowed, but if you are serious about SEO, then by unique (adjusting) tags you can improve your site's position. Due to the differences in headers and the correct filling of tags, it is real:

Expand semantics;
- increase the information content and clickability of snippets;
- supplement the page with keys of exact, inaccurate and diluted entry;
- lay the foundation for promotion;
- increase SEO potential and get additional traffic from search.

If during the optimization process you have any questions or difficulties filling in the tags, look at the Yandex / Google search results for your queries. The TOP-5 already includes those sites that the search engines considered the standard, "correct". Analyze them and take an example!

Should H1 and TITLE be the same or should they be different? A long-standing question that always arises at every meeting where there are SEOs. Where he came from is difficult to say. Perhaps because of the discrepancy between the recommendations of search engines and examples in the TOP10.

Arguments for different title tags and H1: they say, the search engine will “think” that we want to double use the meaning of the keyword, for which it will definitely punish 🙂
Arguments for the same tags: a quote in Yandex Help for Webmasters.

For the robot analyzing your site to be able to correctly highlight the most important sections and key pages, you need ... the text in the TITLE tag for key pages coincides with its title (with the page title highlighted, for example, with the H1 tag) and with the text of links pointing to this page.

How, in fact, to make them the same or different? By and large - no difference. But there are a few things to consider.

- H1 and TITLE must overlap

If the title is about one, and H1 is about another, then it is more difficult for the search to determine which keywords the page is relevant to, and users will be in difficulty. Also, these pieces of code help search engines form special elements in a snippet, such as bread crumbs or quick links... In other words, you don't need to make TITLE and H1 completely different. Let's see some examples (just as a demonstration, without preliminary analysis of the semantics).

The site is a salon of Italian furniture in Moscow. Key queries: Italian furniture showroom, Italian furniture ...
TITLE: Salon of Italian furniture in Moscow. Buy furniture from Italy | Name-Salon

H1: Welcome
Not an optimal option, since there are no promoted keywords at all in H1. The greeting can be written in the text.

H1: Exclusive furniture from Italy
Already better, since the tags overlap on the key "furniture from italy". But it may not be on priority requests.

H1: Salon of Italian furniture Name-Salon
Normal header for the main request, nothing extra.

As you can see, there is no point in making H1 and TITLE completely identical, but they should still overlap.

- H1 and TITLE are visible by users at different stages of interaction with the site

TITLE is often seen by the user even before going to the site. H1 sees already when it is on the page. In this regard, it is better to make H1 short and describe the essence as much as possible. landing page, much depends on its purpose. As for the TITLE, in addition to the content of the keywords, it should motivate the user to click (transition). Otherwise, you can optimize text relevance, but not optimize conversion in clicks and, accordingly, not receive all traffic.

For example, the section on radio-controlled helicopters on the website.
H1: Radio-controlled helicopters (logical)
TITLE: Buy radio-controlled helicopters with delivery in Moscow

Here the word “buy” calls to action, and “delivery in Moscow” removes a number of questions before the click.

Information topic: how to weave bracelets from rubber bands
H1: How to weave rubber bracelets on a machine
TITLE: Rubber bracelets: step by step instructions and weaving patterns with photos and videos

"Step by step instructions and diagrams" not only expand the semantics, but also increase the likelihood of clicking on the title. A person looking for “how to weave” just means step-by-step instructions with a photo, but may not include this in their request.

- TITLE pulls up on social networks

If the code is not additionally configured, then when users share a page on a social network, the title is taken from the title. If it is spam, then it prevents both the transition from social networks and sharing in principle. If it is just short, like H1, then this is also a bad option.

This item is most relevant for information and news projects. But some of them only work on social networks, so take an example from headlines like “This woman could no longer look at herself in the mirror. And here's what she did ... ”is not always correct for SEO. Just when composing titles, remember that they can get headlines on social networks.

- TITLE may contain additional key phrases

To promote the page not only by selected mid-frequency phrases, but also by adjacent ones, as well as a large pool of low-frequency phrases, you can add some words from the core to the title. Accordingly, this will distinguish it from the H1 tag.

For example, we have a pool of requests: installation of bituminous shingles, installation of flexible shingles, instructions for installing shingles, technology for installing shingles, technology for laying bitumen shingles, laying bituminous shingles, installing flexible shingles video, etc., etc.

H1: Installation instructions for flexible shingles
TITLE: Installation of flexible tiles, laying technology. Price, video

Here, the title and H1 are completely different, they intersect only with a few words (installation, bituminous, tile). It makes no sense to insert all words from the core into the title or into H1, it will look spammy, and dividing words into code sections (including other headings) is a good strategy.

It examines the increase in site traffic that occurred after a sharp change in title on most pages. The case is interesting for its "purity" weak influence other factors. This allows you to do sound conclusions (a huge rarity for SEO cases). Therefore, I simply could not help but continue studying it.

The previous material, as many have noticed, was devoted to the proof of the axiom (which, however, many undertake to dispute - see the quotes at the beginning). Today we will dig a little deeper, consider a not so obvious question (to whom it will seem too simple - to the state of Zen).

Hypothesis: different title and h1 tags worsen rankings

In expanded form, it can be formulated as follows:

• the same title and h1 give more occurrences of the query in the main areas of the document, thus increasing text relevance;
• conversely, using different keywords in title and h1 increases the reach of queries, but worsens the relevance and ranking for them.

(You can give theoretical arguments and "for" and "against" this assumption. I will skip them and go straight to real observations.)

If the hypothesis is correct, then before deciding to use different title and h1, you need necessarily Determine the importance of keywords intended for use in different headings.

If enough keys are more or less equal in frequency and commercial value, then using different tags for better coverage is justified. If there are 2-3 most important ones, then it may be a more reasonable decision to select a universal heading.

Let me explain the idea with an example.

In the previous article, it was shown that the growth in traffic on the studied site was associated precisely with search phraseswhich are semantically close to title. Can we conclude from this that a "rewrite" title always gives a similar result (+ 28% of search traffic)?

Of course not!

We don't know exactly how or why growth started. After all, this option is also possible:

1. New keywords in title gave an increase in 50% of visits at once.
2. At the same time, some of the requests close to the old title dropped out (they duplicated h1), they took away 22% of the visits.

What if, in the case of requests with a different frequency (if there are more important ones in h1), this will lead to a drop in the total traffic ?!

In general, you need to figure it out.

Verification algorithm

To dispel doubts, you need to determine how the amount of traffic has changed for the keys associated with h1.

Here are the results of the semantic analysis search queries, similar to those given in the first part of the study.

As you can see, the traffic for the group of requests that are related to h1 also grew, although by a couple of percent less than the average. But our hypothesis predicts its decline, right? It turns out she's wrong! This means that it can be considered proven that "smart" search engines understand the essence of the page so well that the use of not duplicated, but synonymous titles gives a bonus for the "humanity" and "non-randomness" of the content. Sensation! Right?

No, not true!

If the above logic seems correct to you, then you have not understood the situation deeply enough. Let's put everything on the shelves.

For what requests can they come to the site?

For the purposes of this discussion, we are interested in the following division:

In order to understand whether the title affects the ranking, it was enough for us to track changes in traffic in the group of the first column (queries containing lemmas from title, it doesn't matter if they are in h1 or not). Indeed, for the group after changing the title, the relevance as a whole remained at the same level (or even decreased), so that the dynamics of changes for the entire group more or less corresponds to the dynamics. Given the very clear growth (almost 36%!), Additional research is not necessary here.

What queries will help test a hypothesis?

The situation is quite different for keywords containing lemmas from h1. For the purposes of this study, they cannot be viewed in bulk.

Let me explain clearly. Imagine we have a page with the following h1 and title: “How to use titles for SEO promotion site ". Then we tensed and made a unique title: "Headlines for SEO: writing principles, tips, life hacks from experts." What happens to the relevance for the query “ seo headers advice"?

Here's what:

She will grow up, of course. But this query contains lemmas from h1. Therefore, if we mechanically transfer the logic of the first study to the second (which I did above in a provocative manner), we will get the wrong result!

That is: to test the hypothesis, we need to track the dynamics of traffic changes for queries that contain lemmas from h1, but do not contain lemmas from title. For the example described above, such a query would be, say, "what to use in website promotion."

Results and conclusions

For the group of requests we are interested in, the following picture is observed:

Aha! For a group of keys that have lost their similarity to title, while staying close to h1, traffic has really decreased!

What does this mean?

First, this is a serious argument in favor of the hypothesis presented at the beginning of the article. As we can see, for successful ranking it is not enough for the query to appear in h1 and its synonyms / thematic words in the title. Entering both title and h1 provides a much better effect (see the first table). Using different title and h1 cannot be considered a universal recipe for all occasions.

The presence of lemmas from the request in the title - important factor ranking (once again we confirm the conclusion from the previous article).

Second, the thoughtless use of different title and h1 can damage traffic ... Any SEO decision must be made consciously and reasonably!

Thirdly, you shouldn't be very afraid. It is easy to see that there is nothing particularly difficult about creating different headlines that overlap on important keywords. This minimizes traffic losses for requests far from title. This was done on the site under study. The bottom line is an excellent increase in traffic. Keep this in mind the next time you work on headings.