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.
In order 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 texts 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 thing, 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 promotions in H1 at all keywords... 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 the conversion in clicks and, accordingly, not receive all the 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 elastic 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 from 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). There is no point in inserting all words from the core into a title or into H1, it will look spammy, and dividing words into code sections (including other headings) is a good strategy.
On a blog that I have been working on for more than 2 months now, I have to correct many mistakes that I made earlier, in the process of writing articles and promoting them. I wrote about one of these mistakes, and today I want to continue my story about title pages and h1 tags... Rather, the conversation will not even go about the tags themselves (you probably already know what they are and what they are for), but about their use on your website. Let me try to explain to you in more detail.
When we write an article for a blog, with its subsequent posting, we need to fill in certain fields in the blog admin panel, for better ranking for a key query in the search engine. Simply put, you need to register the title of the page itself and the second most important element - the heading h1.
In order to specify the h1 tag, you must fill in the following field when adding a new record.
To register the title page, fill in the field at the end of the post itself, which is generated by the plugin All In One seo Pack.
All this is understandable, you tell me, but what is the essence of the post, Alexander? And the essence of the post is to tell you that you cannot use the exact repetition of the title page and the h1 tag when writing any blog article and its further publication. This is a mistake and, in fact, there is a simple duplication of content on the page. And since this content consists of keywords, the conclusion is obvious.
When I just started blogging, I used various methods of internal optimization of articles, including repeating the above tags. In addition, I also duplicated the key request in the h2 tag, which, of course, attracted close attention from Google and, as a result, entailed the imposition of a filter for a combination of different factors.
The result is only 8-10% of search traffic, I get from Google PS.
Of course, at this point in time, all the mistakes I made earlier are eliminated and sooner or later, I will receive the coveted traffic from the global search engine.
Well, and to you friends, I recommend correcting the situation if it is similar to that described in the article (you can simply dilute the heading h1 with 1-2 words, or decline the key request). By the way, you can use one tricky trick and in order not to manually fix each title or h1 heading, you just need to add an insert like this:
in field Format for pages in the All In One Seo Pack plugin settings.
After such actions, for each title-pages the name of your blog will be substituted, which will already make it different from the heading h1.
That's it, this is where I will end this article. If you have any questions, ask in
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 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:
- New keywords in title gave an increase in 50% of visits at once.
- 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 requests 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, but overlapping headlines on important keywords. This minimizes traffic losses for requests that are far from title. This was done on the site under study. The bottom line is a great increase in traffic. Keep this in mind the next time you work on headings.
This question is often heard on SEO forums and conferences. Let's try to figure it out and we.
The opinion of some is that they should not be alike. Their argument is this. Search engines pessimize the page in the SERP if they find manipulations in order to strengthen the keyword with double mention (by writing it in the Title meta tag and in the first level heading).
The second opinion - yes, they should be similar. They link to the Yandex section on how to design search results. It says that you need the text in the title tag for important pages of the site to match the title, which is highlighted with the h1 tag. However, here you need to understand that this prescription was given by Yandex for webmasters in connection with the correct writing of quick links.
So how do you do them? Make them exactly the same, or completely different? In fact, there is not much difference. When making an individual decision, you just need to know some of the nuances.
HTML document title (title) and page title (h1) must overlap
If you write them differently, you can mislead the user. For example, the website of a company offering services for the design and renovation of premises has the following title: How to choose the right wallpaper. Going to this site, the user sees an article with the title: How to choose wallpaper for the bedroom. The user leaves immediately. As a result, the site receives a large percentage of bounces, because the visitor is looking for general information... He needs to reveal the principles of choosing wallpaper for different rooms, and not wallpaper for the bedroom. If the title and the h1 tag are not interconnected in any way, then it will be difficult for the search engine to determine the relevance of the page. given request... It's even worse if the h1 header doesn't use the keyword at all.
A normal heading would be something like this: How to choose a wallpaper, taking into account the characteristics of the premises. As you can see from these examples, the title of the article does not repeat word for word the meta title tag, but they do overlap.
Title and social networks
Whenever a user shares a website page on social networks, the title of this page will be taken from the title and not from h1. Therefore, when compiling a title, you should write the correct title with the expectation of showing the page on social networks. It should also influence the transitions from social networks to the site and the sharing of a web page on the Internet.
Title and related queries
In some cases, it is worth adding keywords from low-frequency and related queries to the title (in addition to the selected mid-frequency phrases). It all depends on the type of landing page and your desire. Naturally, this will distinguish it from h1. If, in addition to the main key, you insert more words from the semantic core into h1, then such a header will seem overspammed. But if you distribute word forms among other fragments of the page code, then this approach will be fully justified.
For example, there are a number of keywords: installation of paving slabs, paving slabs, video installation, technology for installing paving slabs, laying paving slabs, price, paving slabs, photos, etc. Title: Installation of paving slabs, installation technology. Price, video. Heading h1: Technology for installing paving slabs.
Contact of users with titles Title and h1 in different periods of using the web resource
The user sees the title on the search engine search page, and the h1 tag - when he has already entered the site. Therefore, the title should be optimized not only to have textual relevance, but also because it should encourage the user to visit the site. In other words, it must have a call to action. Otherwise, you can miss some traffic. An H1 heading is best done with few words. Then it will convey the essence of the landing page.
As an example, let's take an information request: how to knit sorghum brooms. H1: How to properly knit sorghum brooms. Meta title tag: How to knit sorghum brooms. Video, detailed instructions with photos. The phrases “detailed instructions, video with photos” not only increase the pool of requests, but also increase the likelihood of going to the site. When making such an information request, the user is most likely looking for a guide with detailed instructions, with photos and videos on this topic.
Let's also take an example of a commercial request: gasoline lawn mower. H1: Petrol lawn mower. Title: Buy a gasoline lawn mower with delivery to Ivanovo. The word "buy" - encourages action, and "with delivery to Ivanovo" - eliminates questions.
Conclusion
Whether the title and h1 headings are the same or not depends on personal preference and your expectations. There are no clear rules regarding their drafting. If only they intersect, do not contradict each other, are relevant to the main request, do not mislead the user and stimulate him to take action.
There is no doubt that Title and H1 tags play a key role in internal search engine optimization and SEO-website promotion. That is why there are disputes among newbie webmasters about how to fill in Title and H1 correctly ...
Should the headings be the same, similar, or completely different? What are the search engine requirements and SEO recommendations for tagging? How does Title and H1 influence promotion? Should I write meta-titles manually or trust the automation of CMS engines (content management systems)?
Title and H1: how are they compiled and how they differ
The Meta Title tag is the main title of the page, which is written at the top of the HTML code and is supplemented with a description (meta Description tag).
Title Title is enclosed in blocks in HTML-code
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 in 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 duplication of text blocks (so that Title differs 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 automation of filling the meta Title tag saves the webmaster's time by manually adding the same type (static or dynamic) text fragments 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 compiling 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. In this case, 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 (periods, hyphens, commas, slashes, quotation marks, brackets) are used to divide keywords and semantic segments.
12. Key phrases it is better to use it 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. Title Title are compiled taking into account the specifics of the site, the characteristics 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 appropriate. 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 "key cannibalization").
After optimization, double-check 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 uniqueizing (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 when 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!
