H1, H2 Tags Etc

[Dave Fisher]

Being new to Actinic and having very little knowledge of HTML we are really struggling with SEO and the concept of H1 Tags Etc

Our product database has been created for example

Hewlett Packard
Hewlett Packard Toners
HP LaserJet 2300
Q2610A HP LaserJet 2300 Toner
Q2610D HP LaserJet 2300 Dual Pack

In the example above the key words are the printer name 'LaserJet 23002' and the manufacturers references Q2610A & Q2610D

Can anyone give me an idiots guide to which templates need changing and where and how the tags should go.

Any help would be appreciated because we have read reams of paper about this and still can not get our heads around the how to do this.

Hopefully someone out there will be kind enough to help ! ?

[Mike Hughes]

H1 and H2 tags are HTML tags that tell a browser that text within the tags are the headings and subheadings respectively of the page. The browser will then display that text larger and bolder than other text, although you can control the way it is displayed using css.

In the past, search engines would 'score' text within the H tags as being more important than other text. This may or may not still be the case.

To use H tags within your pages, all you have to do is decide what text is appropriate and then place the <H1> </H1> tags around the text in your actinic templates.

Which template you need to alter will depend on which text you want to use the tags on. The actinic template manager is good place to start browsing through the templates to see whats controlled where. Failing that I can recommend the Actinic training courses as a good way for getting up to speed.

As a final comment I have to say that the correct use of header tags will probably only have a minor impact on search engines ranking these days compared to the more important stuff like content, links and anchor text. Also be careful not to over use header tags as that can appear as spamming to the search engines with a consequent loss of position.

Mike

[BPJSURF]

Actinic has an excellent guide to SEO. The document can be downloaded from http://www.actinic.com/documentation.html . This document will give you an explanation of the content needed to excell in your keyword phrases of choice. If your serious about getting listed at the top rankings in search engines there are several areas you must look at in the search engine optimization process.
First and formost choose the correct keyword phrases. (hint - stay away from Hewleitt packard and choose Hewleitt packard ink jet cartridge) I just read a study that showed that the high number of words ina keyword phrase the more likely the keyword phrase will produce traffic (up to 5 keywords) Next make sure you focus your keywords in the page titles and page names. Be sure to use keyword phrases in the section names.

Advanced tip - use the Actinic breadcrumb
set up the actinic.css to use the h1 tag and apply it to the breadcrumb
use the h2 tag in your section lists (bulk area)

We actually sell prebuilt templates for Actinic that incorporate a nice web design and the SEO formatting for best possiable results. you can see some of our prebuilt templates at http://buythisdesign.com We also deploy the design in the Actinic brochure so that you can build informational pages that are completely integrated into the catalog design.

Because we are in the US we would not be a good canidate for doing your submision. Besure to use hosting in the UK if your target market is UK. Also use a local SEO consultant with a good track record.

Besure to validate the html and do a complete link check on your website and catalog before submitting to the search engines. If the html code is sloppy you will be penialized in the search engine ranking. Keep it simple and I am sure you will get great results from teh Actinic Software. I personally think the SEO capabilities of Actinic make it the most attractive web building solution avalaible today.

Good luck,

Brian

[Dave Fisher]

Thanks

Thanks for your help

[dave_finlayson]

Is there any reason why you use H1 on the breadcrumb and H2 on the sections? Is there any benefit/penalty in using H1 exclusively?

Dave

[webyourbusiness]

it is suspected that search engines look at excessive H1 and H2 usage as search engine spamming... basically - over-cooking the site... you can definitely hurt yourself by using TOO MUCH H1-2 text.

[dave_finlayson]

Thought that might be the case, currently I am using H1 in the breadcrumb and H2 on the section names on every catalogue section page. Hopefully this isnt too much!

Dave

[BPJSURF]

The h1 tag is:
The h1 tag
The HTML element

<h1> text </h1>

Causes the text to be displayed as a level 1 heading. This is boldest, largest heading form available. The text may be centered with one or two lines of clear space after the text. When printed this will appear at the start of a page.

Using the H1, H2 tag as a heading title is exactly what the tag is intended. Search engines do look at "headings" and weight the "heading" against the page text. If your comfortable that the text between the h1 tag represents a quality informational heading to the text "content" below the h1 tag then your using the tag correctly and there should be no concerns for spamming. Using H1 or H2 on the breadcrumb is a good use as the crumb is a navigational text link and uses the Section description on the page; as well it is always located at the top of the page and should represent the products below. Within Actinic Software the section description and title will be synchronized (matching text as default)

Using the heading tags correctly will help increase your page content value when indexed by the search engines.

A good litmus test for page tag usage is as follows:
When you view a web page and the page title provides a good representation of the text content of the page the title is useful to the reader and useful to search engines.
When you view a heading in the body of the web page it provides a good representation of the text content below the heading it is a good heading for the reader and a therefore good for search engines.
When reading the text content of a web page if it provides useful information as directed by the title and headings of the web page then the text is relevant quality content as described by the title and heading.

A search engines goal is to deliver relevant content to searchers. If you have good content. If you construct your pages correctly and format the page contents with the proper tags there is a very good chance you will do very well.
with search engines.