Definition

Heading structure is the arrangement of HTML heading levels (`<h1>` through `<h6>`) that organises a page into a hierarchy of titles, sections, and sub-sections.

Headings serve two distinct audiences. For screen reader users, semantic ordering — H1 followed by H2s, then H3s nested beneath — is what allows efficient navigation through a document. For Google Search, the documentation states that heading order does not need to be strictly semantic and that there is no ideal number of headings on a page; Google uses headings, along with surrounding content, to understand topical structure rather than to score ranking signals against a particular pattern.

Examples

• Long-form guide

  A guide titled 'Setting up a small business in Australia' uses one H1 for the title, four H2s for major phases (registration, tax, hiring, marketing), and several H3s under each H2 for individual sub-steps.

• Documentation site

  Each documentation page reserves the H1 for the page title, and reference sections appear as H2s named 'Parameters', 'Examples', and 'Errors', mirroring the visible table of contents.

Sources

• Google Search Central — SEO Starter Guide (Headings)
• Google Search Central — Influencing your title links in search results

Related terms

• H1 Tag
  An HTML element (`<h1>`) used to mark the primary heading of a page, typically the most prominent visible title.
• Title Tag
  The HTML `<title>` element on a page. Google often uses its content to generate the clickable headline (the "title link") in search results.
• SEO-Friendly URL
  A URL that is readable, descriptive, and structured so that search engines and people can understand what a page is about from the address alone.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• SEO Audit
• Page Optimisation