Do pages with multiple H1 tags rank worse?

Busted Based on 35,193 data points
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What the Data Shows

Pages with 2 H1 tags get the most impressions — spread is ~68%. Multiple H1s do not hurt; pages with 0 H1s perform the worst.

Bottom line: Multiple H1s do not hurt impressions; missing H1s correlate with the worst performance.

How to Read This Chart

The x-axis shows the number of H1 tags found on a page. Each bar shows relative impressions for pages in that H1-count bucket. The tallest bar is the 2 H1 group, and the lowest is the 0 H1 group. Focus on the gap between 0 H1 and the rest, not small differences between 1 and 2.

Background

Many SEOs still treat “one H1 per page” as a ranking rule. It drives audits, templates, and dev tickets. Across 35K+ unique pages, pages with 2 H1 tags got the most impressions. The spread across H1 counts is ~68%, and pages with 0 H1 tags performed the worst.

What to Do Next

  1. 1

    Run a crawl and export H1 count per URL high

    Segment pages into 0, 1, 2, and 3+ H1 buckets.

  2. 2

    Fix all indexable pages with 0 H1 high

    Add a single, descriptive H1 that matches the page’s main intent.

  3. 3

    Spot-check pages with 3+ H1 for template noise medium

    Demote shared elements to div/span or H2/H3 where needed.

  4. 4

    Add an automated test in your CMS/theme low

    Block publishing if H1 is missing on indexable templates.

Best Practices

  1. 1

    Use at least 1 H1 on 100% of indexable pages

    An H1 gives Google a clean main topic cue. If you ship pages with 0 H1s, you risk weaker topical focus.

  2. 2

    Keep the primary H1 aligned with the title tag (≥70% overlap in intent)

    Match the query intent, not the exact words. If they conflict, you dilute relevance signals.

  3. 3

    Audit templates so extra H1s are intentional (0 accidental H1s)

    Extra H1s often come from headers, logos, or CMS blocks. If they are accidental, they usually point to messy templates.

  4. 4

    Use H2/H3 for sections and repeatable blocks (not H1)

    Reserve H1 for page-level topics. If every module uses H1, your structure becomes noisy for crawlers and users.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Fighting for “exactly one H1” instead of “clear hierarchy”

    You waste dev time on a non-issue while real content gaps stay unfixed.

  • Ignoring pages with 0 H1 because they “still look fine”

    You miss a common template flaw tied to the worst impression performance in the dataset.

  • Letting navigation or site name render as an H1 on every page

    You blur the page topic and inflate shared headings across the site.

What Works

  • + Gives Google a stronger page topic cue when at least one H1 exists
  • + Reduces risk that shared template text becomes the main heading
  • + Supports clearer content sections when H2/H3 do the heavy lifting

What Doesn’t

  • - Adding extra H1s does not create new relevance by itself
  • - Template-driven H1s (logo, nav) can drown out the real page topic
  • - Missing H1s often map to weak structure and worse impressions

Expert Tip

Most “multiple H1” cases are not content choices. They are template bugs, like a site name rendered as H1 plus the article title as H1. Fix the shared H1 first, then measure if query mix and impressions shift on key templates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is having multiple H1 tags bad for SEO?
Not by itself. Our data shows pages with 2 H1s had the most impressions.
How many H1 tags should a page have in 2026?
Use 1 clear primary H1. Extra H1s are fine if they are meaningful and not template noise.
Do multiple H1 tags confuse Google?
Google can parse modern HTML well. Confusion usually comes from poor content structure, not an extra H1.
What happens if a page has no H1 tag?
It often signals thin or broken templates. In this dataset, 0 H1 pages performed the worst on impressions.
If 2 H1s got the most impressions, should I add more H1s to rank better?
No. The win is from better pages and cleaner templates, not from “H1 stacking.”
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Methodology

All data comes from real websites tracked by SEOJuice. We use the latest snapshot per page so each page counts once, regardless of site size. We filter for pages with at least 10 Google Search Console impressions and valid ranking positions (1-100).

Data is refreshed weekly. Correlation does not imply causation — these insights show associations, not guaranteed outcomes.

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