# Heading structure (H1-H6) for SEO and readability

> How to use the H1-H6 heading structure to improve your SEO and readability: hierarchy, golden rules and the most common mistakes to avoid.

URL: https://codegea.com/en/heading-structure-h1-h6-for-seo-and-readability
SEO · 2026-06-27 · Derian Pinto

Headings are not for "prettifying" text. They are the skeleton of your page: they tell Google what each section is about and tell the reader where they are. Using them well improves SEO and readability at once; using them badly (everything in bold, several H1s, skipped levels) confuses both. Let's see how to order them.

> Good use of headings is like a good table of contents: Google and the reader understand your page at a glance.

## What each level is, from H1 to H6

Think of it as a document outline. The `H1` is the main title of the page and there is only one. `H2`s are the main sections. `H3`s are subsections inside an H2. `H4` to `H6` are finer levels that are rarely needed. It is a hierarchy: each level hangs from the previous one.

## The golden rules

- A single H1 per page, with the main keyword.
- Do not skip levels (from H2 to H4); go down one at a time.
- Use headings to organize, not to style: size is controlled with CSS.
- Each heading must describe what comes below it.
- Think of the person scanning: the headings should tell the story on their own.

## Why it matters for SEO

Google uses the heading hierarchy to understand the structure of your content and the weight of each topic. Clear headings, with related terms, reinforce relevance and help win featured snippets. They also improve accessibility: screen readers navigate by jumping between headings, so a good hierarchy makes your page usable for everyone.

## Common mistakes

| Mistake | Problem | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Several H1s | Confuses the hierarchy | A single H1 |
| Jumping from H2 to H4 | Breaks the structure | Go down level by level |
| Headings as styling | Text that looks like a title without being one | Style with CSS, not with Hx |
| Vague headings | Give no context | Describe the section |
| Everything in H2 | No real hierarchy | Use H3 for subtopics |

A clear structure is part of a well-built page, just like [performance optimization](/en/supercharge-your-website-key-tips-for-web-performance-optimization). And if your content lives in a [headless WordPress](/en/headless-wordpress-with-nextjs-architecture-advantages-and-how-to-start) system, keeping that semantic hierarchy on the front end is just as important for SEO.

## The outline before the text

The simplest method for good headings is to write them first. Before drafting, build a list with only the H1, H2s and H3s, and read it in order as if it were the table of contents of a book. If it tells the whole story of the page, you can start writing; if it jumps topics or does not make sense alone, reorganize before spending a paragraph.

Then, when the content is ready, repeat the test: copy only the headings and see whether they still tell the same story. It is the fastest way to catch sections that drifted.

One H1 per page and levels that go down one at a time. With that settled, the reader scanning from a phone and Google understand your page almost at the same time.

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Is your content good but disorganized and not ranking as it should? At [Codegea](/en/contact) we work on the structure and on-page SEO of your site so Google and your readers understand it at first glance. Write to me and we will review it.