In more technical terms, a sub headline is anything that’s not an H1. This typically means we’re dealing with an H2, H3, and sometimes an H4 headline.

What this means

H2, H3, and H4 headlines are all sub headlines, with the H2 appearing the biggest, and an H4 appearing the smallest. In other words, the bigger the number after the “H” (which stands for headline), the smaller the headline actually appears on the page.

At first glance this may seem counter intuitive, but in addition to looking smaller on the page, something that’s an H2, H3 or H3 also gives direction to Google as to which sub headline should be given the most importance — and an H2 has more SEO value than a H3, and an H3 has more SEO value than a H4, and so on …

Just as we discussed with your main headline, your sub headlines should be clear and compelling to the human eye. And, whenever possible, you’ll want it to include an optimized keyword or keyword phrase in it, as well. I say “whenever possible,” because we never want to sacrifice the quality of our content for the sake of search engine optimization (SEO).

Sub Headlines Serve TWO Major Purposes

1. Just like you see here, they can segment a page into bite-sized pieces, making it super easy for visitors to identify the content that’s most important to them.
2. Sub headlines are also a key part of every page that need to be optimized. Just make sure the keyword phrase you use is specific to the topic of the page and/or the content that sits right below it.Here’s an example of what I mean …

Each of the highlighted sub headlines in this example clarify exactly what the content that lives below it is all about. In this case, my sub headlines are very straightforward (no romance), but that’s OK.

As a reminder, please remember that each web page or blog post should only have one H1 and one H2 headline. Multiple H3s or H4s are fine (like in the above example) — which is why they’re a great tool for segmenting content in a uniform, easy to comprehend way.

Next time we’ll tackle text links!

Although this is an important step in the optimization process, it’s often overlooked — even by web design and SEO agencies. Optimizing both your image names, and your alt image text, helps Google identify what your imagery and graphics are about.

Plus, optimized images help improve the SEO value of your website and blog. They also make it possible for people to find you through the Google Images tab during an organic search.

What to focus on …

• Optimize both your image names and alt image names. Keep character count at a maximum of 50
• Follow this image naming convention: This-Is-How-Your-Image-Name-Should-Look.jpeg
• Spaces and underscores in-between words = bad for SEO — so don’t use them!
• Follow this Alt Image naming convention: This Is How Your Image Name Should Look
• As you can see, it’s the same as the image name, but with spaces instead of dashes, and no “.jpeg”
• It’s best to optimize image names BEFORE you upload them to your website or blog
• If you’re beginning work on optimizing an existing website or blog, you’ll have to save your current website images to your computer or a cloud account, rename them, and re-upload them
• In order to successfully optimize images (or anything else on your website, you will need a comprehensive Keyword Report (we create them for all of our clients) — the report is the foundation for optimizing every image

What to avoid …

• “Logo.png,” or “Image12867.jpg” are meaningless to Google, so the algorithm just moves on and pays these files no mind
• Instead, use a phrase that’s rich in one or more keywords that are relevant to each particular page or blog post
• Guessing at what your keywords might be … you want to make sure you’re using your time wisely, so be sure to have a keyword report before you start!

If all of this sounds overwhelming, we can help (we love optimizing websites). Feel free to get in touch with Cuppa SEO anytime to schedule a time to talk.

Here’s a quick explanation of what a title tag is, and how to leverage its power for better SEO …

A title tag is the words (content) in the grey bar at the very top of each web page. Here’s an example …

Each title tag should use optimal, specific keywords to identify what’s on the page while remaining within the industry standard of 70 characters each. A title tag needs to lead with the most important keyword phrase for that particular page, and end with your company name.

As you can see from the above example, phrases in a title tag are separated by sticks, which is a keyboard character I’ve grown very fond of because they separate phrases for easy readability, but are harmless when it comes to your title tag’s SEO.

In our next installment of SEO Tips we’ll cover optimizing headlines.

Need assistance right away?
Feel free to get in touch with Cuppa SEO to schedule a time to talk.