Step 01
Paste a draft H1, or check a live URL
Switch to Paste text to test a draft, or From URL to pull the live H1 tags straight from any page.
Free H1 Checker
Paste a draft H1 or scan a live URL to check length, keyword usage, and how your H1 compares to the title tag — analyzed in real time.
Live analysisGood
45Recommended 20–70 characters
- Length within 20–70 characters
- Target keyword detected
- No ALL CAPS abuse
- H1 is not empty
How it works
Check any H1 in three steps.
Step 02
Add your target keyword
Enter the keyword you want the page to rank for and we'll confirm whether it appears in the H1.
Step 03
Read the inline analysis
Watch the character count, status badge, and checklist update in real time as you type.
Everything you need to know about H1 tags.
Four short chapters on what the H1 is, how it differs from the title tag, and why search and AI engines lean on it.
What is an H1 tag?
The headline that frames the whole page.
The H1 is the main, top-level heading rendered on the page itself — usually the first large line above your opening paragraph. Unlike the title tag, it is visible to readers, and it tells both people and search engines what the page is fundamentally about.
The H1, the title tag, and H2–H6
Three roles, one clear hierarchy.
The title tag lives in the document head and shows in the browser tab and search results. The H1 sits on the page as its single main heading. H2 through H6 are subheadings that break the content beneath the H1 into a logical structure.
How Google and AI engines use the H1
A primary signal of what a page covers.
Search engines read the H1 as a strong topical signal, matching it against queries to decide what a page is about. A clear, descriptive H1 that includes your primary term early makes that judgment easy — and helps you avoid competing with your own pages.
H1 tags in AI search and LLM citations
Extra weight where models read and cite.
In AI-powered search, the H1 does more than rank. As the page's headline it strongly shapes the embedding that represents your content, so LLMs lean on it to summarize and label the page. A descriptive H1 makes your page easier to cite accurately — serving SEO and answer-engine optimization at once.
Best practices
What makes a great H1.
One H1 per page
Use a single H1 so search engines have one unambiguous main heading.
Length: 20–70 characters
Long enough to be descriptive, short enough to stay scannable and avoid truncation.
Include your primary keyword early
Place the term you are targeting near the start so its relevance is obvious.
Different from the title tag
Write a variant of the title tag so the page can target additional related queries.
Descriptive, not vague
Tell readers exactly what the page delivers instead of using a generic label.
What to avoid
Common H1 mistakes.
Missing H1
The page has no H1 at all, leaving search engines without a clear main heading.
Multiple H1 tags on the same page
More than one H1 splits the signal and muddies what the page is about.
H1 identical to the title tag
Duplicating the title tag wastes a chance to target extra queries with a variant.
H1 too short or too long
Under 20 characters is rarely descriptive; over 70 gets truncated and loses focus.
Vague or non-descriptive H1
Generic headings like "Welcome" tell readers and engines nothing about the page.
Questions, answered.
- Yes. Every indexable page should have exactly one H1 that describes its main topic. It helps both readers and search engines understand the page at a glance, and it is one of the simplest on-page SEO elements to get right.
- HTML5 technically allows multiple H1s, but for SEO it is best to use just one. A single H1 gives search engines one clear main heading; multiple H1s can dilute that signal and make the page's focus ambiguous.
- The H1 is a meaningful on-page signal rather than a direct ranking factor on its own. A clear, keyword-relevant H1 helps search engines understand and match your page to queries, which supports rankings alongside content quality and other factors.
- They can overlap but should not be identical. Writing the H1 as a variant of the title tag lets you target additional related queries and gives you two chances to communicate relevance instead of one.
- Aim for roughly 20 to 70 characters. That range is long enough to be descriptive and keyword-rich, yet short enough to stay scannable and avoid being cut off in some layouts.
- The title tag lives in the document head as the <title> element and appears in the browser tab and search results. The H1 is an <h1> element in the page body and is the visible main heading readers see on the page itself.
- Yes, completely free with no sign-up required. Paste a draft H1 or check a live URL as many times as you like — there is no cost, login, or credit card.