How to Fix a Missing or Duplicate H1

The fix, step by step

1. 1

   Pick the line that summarizes the page

   Read the page and ask: if you could keep one sentence, what would it be? That's your H1. Someone who opens the URL with no other context should understand what the page is from that line alone.

2. 2

   Use exactly one H1

   Multiple H1s split the topic signal. Most templates ship with the page title in an H1 and the post title also in an H1 — pick one and demote the other. The post title is usually the right keep on content pages.

3. 3

   Demote the rest to H2 and H3

   Section headings on the same page are H2s. Sub-sections are H3s. Skipping levels (H1 jumping straight to H4) confuses screen readers and doesn't help search. Build a clean outline that nests in order.

4. 4

   Don't keyword-stuff the H1

   An H1 like "Best Cheap Affordable Free SEO Audit Tools 2026" reads like spam and converts worse than a plain line. The H1 is human-facing copy first, search-engine signal second. Pick the line a person would actually write.

Want the pass-fail split for this check? See the full per-check page →