Beating Competitors: A Local Header Tag & H1 Strategy
Client: A local plumbing contractor in a competitive city.
Challenges We Faced
The client’s new website was “pretty” but had a “broken” SEO foundation from the designer:
Multiple H1 Tags
The web designer had used 3-4 H1 tags on the homepage (for styling), confusing Google.
No “Geo” Keywords
The H1 on their “AC Repair” page was just “AC Repair,” with no mention of their city.
No H2 & H3 Subheading Strategy
The service pages were just a wall of text, with no subheadings for secondary keywords (e.g., “emergency AC repair,” “AC maintenance”).
Poor UI/UX & Readability
Users couldn’t scan the page, leading to a high bounce rate.
Missing Internal Links
Service pages didn’t link to related services or blog posts, reducing authority and user navigation.
Get Your Local Pages Ranking
“Is your site structure confusing Google? Our header tags optimization services will fix your H1s and build a structure that ranks.”
Our Approach – How We Solved These Challenges
Comprehensive Header Tag Audit
We used SEMrush’s Site Audit tool to find the “multiple H1” and “missing H1” errors.
H1 Tag Optimization
We fixed the homepage to have only one H1.
We rewrote all service page H1s to follow a clear local formula: [Primary Service] in [City, ST] (e.g., “AC Repair in Brooklyn, NY”).
H2 & H3 Subheading Strategy
We restructured all service pages. We used H2s and H3s to target long-tail, secondary keywords.
H1: AC Repair in Brooklyn, NY
H2: 24/7 Emergency AC Repair
H2: AC Maintenance & Tune-Ups
H3: Signs You Need AC Repair
Header-to-Content Alignment
We expanded and rewrote the body copy under each H2/H3 so every subheading was fully answered with relevant content, entities, and internal links—eliminating thin sections and reinforcing topical relevance.
Results
| Metric | Before | After | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple H1 Tag Errors | 15 pages | 0 pages | -100% |
| Rankings (“AC repair [city]”) | Page 3 (#22) | Page 1 (#5) | +17 spots |
| Bounce Rate (Service Pages) | 80% | 55% | -31.25% |
Free Header Tag Audit
“Not sure if your headers are optimized? Request a Free Header Tag Audit and let our header tag optimization agency find your errors!”
Advice for Marketers & Brand Owners
- You can only have one H1 tag per page. This is a fundamental rule of Header Tags Optimization.
- Use H2s and H3s to target secondary keywords. This is how you rank for “emergency AC repair” and “AC maintenance” on the same page.
- Your H1 tag must include your location. For local SEO, [Service] in [City] is the best H1 formula.
- Good header structure improves UI/UX & Readability, which lowers bounce rate and signals to Google that your page is a good result.
Extra Factors That Made It Work
- Fixing the “multiple H1” issue was a fast, technical win.
- The new H2 & H3 Subheading Strategy allowed the client to rank for 3-4 keywords per page instead of just one.
- The new structure made the page scannable, which Microsoft Clarity showed improved user engagement.
