Welcome to Edition No. 6 of my weekly digital strategy newsletter, providing practical analysis of the latest in the world of content creation.
I apologize that this is three days late. I broke my MacBook last week while I was editing this very newsletter. I set it on the couch to check on something in the oven, and as I was walking away, I heard the terrifying sound of a laptop crashing onto a hard floor. So today I’m hitting send from a Chromebook, which is something I hope to never write again. For the low price of 700Є, I expect to have my computer back by the middle of this week. Which is a great segway…
Please consider supporting my work in any of the following ways:
Become a member. (The entire newsletter is free for a limited time.)
Forward this to a friend or colleague and encourage them to subscribe.
Share this post on social media.
For the best reading experience, go to the website.
Contents
I. Analysis: Header Essentials for SEO
II. News: Ten-Minute TikToks
III. Tip: No Tip This Week Due to Broken Computer
Header? I Barely SEO-her
Header tags are like titles for different sections of content on the same page. If you properly utilize them, your website will be easier to read for humans and bots alike, both of which are important for SEO.
Headers for Humans
(It’s not that Messi)
The more readable your content, the more time someone is likely to spend on your page (provided that the content itself is interesting and informative). But not only are you improving the reader’s user experience. If a someone came to your site via search and spent a lot of time there after clicking through, that high dwell time will improve your SEO rank.
Having well-organized, visually appealing headers will help you achieve this.
Imagine this newsletter was written without any text differentiation whatsoever. Every letter that same size. No bold or all caps or colors or size variation. Simply spaces, punctuation and line breaks.
Not only would that drive you crazy, but one look and you would probably leave the page well before getting to this sentence.
For human purposes, website headers make it easy to jump to the parts that most interest us, make mental bookmarks and tell us what a particular section is about. H1 headers are the largest and typically only used once per page. (Think headlines on news articles.)
Beneath them, you can utilize H2 all the way down to – in most cases – H6, to further subdivide and organize content. (The larger the number, the smaller the header.)
Headers for Bots
(No relation to Toys for Tots)
You always want to write for humans first, bots second. (And Russian oligarchs third.) Hold that rule above all else you read about search strategies.
Now, when I say bots, I’m referring to the overlords at Google, Bing and other search engines that “crawl” your website to evaluate its content. Like a well designed map at your favorite ‘90s shopping mall, these header tags can help the bots more easily navigate what could otherwise be a labyrinth.
In 2020, Google’s John Mueller said this about header tags:
And 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.
…whether you put that into an H1 tag or an H2 tag or H5 or whatever, that doesn’t matter so much.
Here, then, are some ways you can use headers to please the bots:
Include Keywords in Headers
If headers tell the search engines what a particular section is about, what better way to help them than to include important words or phrases in those headers?
Don’t throw something in just for the sake of search (and adding dad-joke puns like I did above is less than necessary), but capitalize on opportunities to include strong indications about the content that follows.
Headers Should Be Concise…
You have paragraph tags (<p>) to write paragraphs. Don’t stuff a bunch of information into what is the equivalent of a chapter title. I wouldn’t recommend headers that are any longer than potential search teams.
…And Interesting
Remember, you’re writing for people first. Draw them in with an intriguing phrase that converts them from scanners to readers.
Using Headers: An Example
Let’s say you were writing an article about how to change the tire on a bicycle*. This is how the hierarchy of your page might look, with plenty of healthy <p> text in between.
*Unlike SEO, this is not an area in which I have expertise, so if you need to change the tire on your bike, please go to a source that actually knows what they’re talking about.
H1: How to Change a Bicycle Tire
—H2: Remove the Bicycle Tire
——H3: Loosen the screws or whatever on the tire
——H3: Remove the tire with your hands or by magic
—H2: Buy a New Bicycle Tire
——H3: Best stores for bicycle tires
—H2: Put the tire on the bicycle
——H3: Tighten the screws again
——H3: Check the air in the tire
———H4: How to check the air in your tire
————H5: Where does air come from?
—————H6: Why does oxygen have the letter ‘X’ in it?
—H2: Ride your bicycle
——H3: Make sure to wear a helmet
———H4: Best helmets for bicycle riders and MLB catchers/hockey goalies
Let the length and nature of your content dictate the number of headers. Sometimes, one header – usually a headline – can be enough. Other times – in-depth guides, for example – you may need many headers and sub headers and sub-sub headers.
In either case, remember to first write for humans…
Is this scannable?
Is the information well organized?
Is the content easy to understand?
…and then worry about the bots.
Do you have any other header-related SEO tips? I would love to hear about them.
Further resources:
News
BEST PRACTICES FOR INSTAGRAM VIDEOS, ACCORDING TO INSTAGRAM
In a blog post about upcoming changes to videos, Instagram shared the following best practices (without using that exact phrase) with a few more details (in the link) to accompany each bullet point.
Keep it Short
Focus on Immersive
Make a good first impression
Be consistent
Avoid Visibly Recycled Content
Consider the Material
Among the more detailed information provided alongside these tips, three stand out to me, quoted verbatim:
Optimize your video content to be viewed vertically.
The first three seconds are critical!
Consistency is key!
If they’re telling us these things, it’s because they’re the tactics the algorithm is probably going to favor. If I had to summarize these tips in once sentence, this is what I would say:
Consistently create vertical Reels with original content that grabs the user’s attention from the very first moment.
And save your horizontal videos for YouTube.
UPDATES & TESTS
TikTok
Users will soon be able to upload videos up to 10 minutes long.
Expanding Birdwatch, a misinformation-battling tool that allows users to provide feedback on content, within the U.S.
Also, a podcast section.
Closing its standalone IGTV app to continue focus-shift to Reels. (This is the same Insta announcement linked above regarding best practices.)
Also: “…later this year we will begin testing a new ad experience on Instagram, which will allow creators to earn revenue from ads displayed on their reels.”
Lastly, good news for accessibility: “We’re excited to announce auto-generated captions in IG Feed videos.”
Meta
An “online digital security and safety training course for journalists and human rights defenders.”
Explain breaks in your career in your experience section.
We are hoping this new feature will make it easier for candidates and recruiters to have open conversations around the skills and experiences professionals amass away from the traditional workplace.
Weekly Tip
You want a tip this week? Fine, here’s your tip:
Don’t leave your MacBook Pro on the edge of a low-friction surface!
Did you find this post useful? Please share it to help spread the word!