John Mueller from Google explains that while hierarchical headings may have a minor influence, fixing them won’t significantly affect your rankings.

John Mueller of Google responded to a question on Reddit regarding heading elements, acknowledging a minor impact but minimizing its importance, offering insights into how Google utilizes headings.

Hierarchical Heading Structure

In the context of heading elements (H1, H2, etc.), hierarchy and hierarchy refer to the organization of headings by importance and structure on a web page. Here, “importance” doesn’t imply significance as a ranking factor but rather pertains to the structural layout of the content. Typically, a web page might have one H1 heading that reflects the overall topic and multiple H2 headings that represent the key sections.

However, for Google’s algorithms, the first heading doesn’t necessarily need to be an H1—it could be an H2. Google doesn’t strictly treat the first heading as the page’s primary topic, nor do SEOs dictate how Google interprets headings in search results.

The technical guidelines for heading elements are outlined by the WW3C, the organization responsible for defining standards like HTML elements, including headings. While Google generally adheres to W3C’s HTML specifications, it isn’t rigid in enforcement, recognizing that many websites use headings rather than strict semantic organization for styling purposes.

Are Incorrectly Ordered Headings Harmful to SEO?

A Reddit user asked about the potential harm of using heading elements out of order, referring to them as “sequential” when the more accurate term is hierarchical. They were curious about the impact of skipping or misordering headings and how much that might affect SEO.

Here’s the specific question:

“How harmful is having non-sequential header tags? Like having an H4 title and H1 tags below, or having H4, H3, H5 but no H2 tags?”

This inquiry highlights the concern over whether skipping or misaligning headings can negatively influence search rankings or site performance.

H1, H2 Headings Have a Slight Impact

Google’s John Mueller has confirmed that while heading order has a slight impact, it’s not a direct ranking factor. He didn’t specify the exact nature of the effect, but it likely helps search engines better understand the structure of the content—though this is speculative. Mueller’s response suggests proper heading order is more about good practice than significant ranking gains.

Here’s what Mueller said:

“Doing things properly (right order headings) is a good practice; it helps search engines to understand your content better, and it’s good for accessibility. If you’re setting up a new site, making significant changes on your templates, or just bored :-), then why not take the extra 10 minutes to get this right.”

Controlling the heading structure can be tricky sometimes because templates might use headings for styling, such as in footers or sidebars. For WordPress sites, this often involves creating a child theme to modify the template’s CSS and ensure sections are styled properly without misusing heading tags.

Ultimately, the heading structure is controlled by the publisher, site owner, or SEO. However, simply including keywords in headings isn’t enough. The true purpose of heading elements is to clearly communicate a section’s content. As Mueller pointed out, headings also play an important role in accessibility.

Google Says Fixing Headings Won’t Change Rankings

This statement might confuse some SEOs, as Google has clarified that correcting headings’ hierarchical structure won’t directly boost a website’s rankings.

Years ago, heading elements played a much more significant role in ranking algorithms. In the early 2000s, headings were crucial for SEO—I know this firsthand, having worked in SEO then. By 2005, however, their impact on rankings had diminished substantially. I remember this shift because, as a digital marketer, I saw the role of headings evolve from a critical ranking factor to a more subtle signal that helps define what a section of a web page is about.

Today, while headings remain important for structuring content, they are no longer a primary driver of rankings.

The Declining Role of Headings in SEO

There was a time when search results were filled with websites that didn’t use heading elements, making the shift in their importance hard to miss.

Despite this, many in the SEO industry continued to believe that headings were a strong ranking factor. However, John Mueller’s comments about the reduced impact of heading elements confirm their changed role in search rankings today.

Mueller further explained:

“That said, if you have an existing site, fixing this isn’t going to change your site’s rankings; I suspect you’ll find much bigger value in terms of SEO by looking for ways to significantly up-value your site overall.”

Mueller’s point highlights the difference between optimizing a page strictly for search engines—by focusing on how Google might interpret heading elements—and designing a page with users in mind, ensuring it contains valuable, on-topic information that flows logically. His advice offers insight into how Google views heading elements and emphasizes the importance of creating user-friendly content.

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