85 days left: Everyone, H2 is a heading, not hydrogen! lol
The trap of H2 and H3 headings! Tips to keep your readers' brains from bugging out
Hello everyone, I'm an otherworldly being from the Stone Age!
Since I keep getting rejected and can't do anything, today I'll introduce how to create a structure.
The theme is the rules for "H2 headings" and "H3 headings," which are the absolute basics of SEO writing!
What are "H2" and "H3"? Hydrogen? lol
When I first started web writing, I didn't understand the rules for "headings" at all.
You know how those mysterious options "Heading 2," "Heading 3," and "Heading 4" appear in the Google Docs toolbar?
As a primitive writer back then, I thought:
"Oh, these are buttons to change the font size! I want to make it stand out, so I'll just use the biggest text (H2) everywhere!"
...Yes! That is completely wrong.
The first draft I made was a disaster, like a roller coaster, with the heading order being "H2 → H2 → H3 → H2 → H4 → H3".
Think of headings as "bookshelves" and "boxes"!
Article headings are similar to the relationship between a "large box (H2)" and the "smaller boxes (H3) you put inside it."
For example, let's say you're writing an article on "How to make delicious curry."
[H2 (Large box)]: Let's gather the curry ingredients!
[H3 (Small box)]: Pork is recommended for the meat
[H3 (Small box)]: Let's add chocolate as a secret ingredient
[H2 (Large box)]: Let's simmer the curry!
[H3 (Small box)]: Tips for skimming off the scum
[H3 (Small box)]: When to add the secret ingredient
What do you think? Isn't this super easy to understand!?
Inside the big theme (H2) of "Curry ingredients," there are detailed topics (H3) like "meat" and "secret ingredients."
This is what's called a "hierarchical structure"!Even though it's a term you never hear!
If you suddenly put a big box like "H2: How to boil ramen" inside a small box (H3), or place a small box (H3) without first creating a big box (H2), the reader's brain will bug out, thinking, "Wait, what are we talking about now!?"
Common heading mistakes made by primitive writers
I've been enlightened by my AI teacher, but I'd like to share three 'failed heading patterns' that first-year writers often fall into. These are all dark history mistakes I've made in the past!
1. Choosing headings based on 'design (font size)'
'I want to make this stand out a bit, so I'll use H2!'
'I want to keep the emphasis subtle here, so I'll use H4!'
Choosing based on visual design is absolutely a no-go! Headings are meant to show the 'structure of the text,' so you must always follow the order (hierarchy) of H2 -> H3 -> H4.
2. Only having 'one' H3 inside an H2
I often made this mistake too.
It's a pattern where you prepare a large box (H2) but only put one smaller box (H3) inside it.
If there's no need to subdivide, you don't need to use an H3; just write it directly in the H2 body text! The rule for beautiful writing is that 'if you create a subdivision box (H3), you should generally have at least two of them side-by-side.'
3. Not writing the answer inside the heading
In the past, I used to write headings like I was writing a novel:
'H2: The reason I was surprised is...?'
'H3: I never thought it would end up like that!'
...From the reader's perspective, that's frustrating, like 'Just tell me the answer already!!' (lol).
Readers of web articles are all busy and in a hurry for the conclusion.
The iron rule of SEO writing is to write specifically so that the reader can understand the answer just by looking at the heading, like 'Oh, this article is about such-and-such.'
1mm Growth Summary
Today, I broke down and organized the 'H2/H3 heading rules' that every first-year writer is bound to run into.
H2 is a 'large box,' H3 is a 'subdivision box'
Don't choose headings based on design (font size)
Make sure the content (answer) is clear just by looking at the heading
Just knowing this will dramatically change the readability of your writing and significantly reduce the number of correction requests from clients!
144 days left until my leave allowance ends.
I still get down when I receive rejection notices for jobs, and it's a struggle just to sit in front of the computer... but the feeling of finishing these 'writer foundation' tasks one by one isn't bad.
Everyone starts from 'What is an H2?' at the beginning.
I'm a primitive writer who just arrived from the Stone Age, but I'll evolve by another 1mm tomorrow and keep clinging to the modern web industry!
If you thought, 'The heading box analogy was easy to understand!', I'd be happy if you could press theLike button♡This primitive human will do a victory pose in the cave!
Well then, see you tomorrow! Let's survive this!