Multiple H1 tags are OK according to developer. I have my doubts. Please advise...

[McTaggart]

Thanks for feedback AWCthreads - tis a good question - ho hum - he's just not using them right. I've had this problem with people putting in hidden tags too. They're just not taking Google, etc., into account. Almost screamed as I counted through them yesterday hee hee.

[AWCthreads]

Hi Luke,

As you can tell, it touched a nerve. I was looking for the moz link to a thread regarding this same issue and Alan (one of the Gurus) said multiple H1's can affect engines differently and if I remember correctly he made reference to a negative response from Bing.

Until H1's achieve the lofty status of meta keywords, I will continue to treat them with some importance and approach them with best practice.

I'll listen for the rumbling coming from your direction.

Good luck.

[EGOL]

Keep in mind that some people innocently use

tags for formatting text.  These folks are building websites because they have a message to share without any regard to SEO.  And some of these websites pull an enormous amount of traffic because they are built by content area experts who write with enthusiasm and verve.

I don't think that google is pulling out a stick to beat these people.

[AWCthreads]

No, Google just beat the value out of the H1 to the point its on life support.

Sorry Egol, but if the innocents had no regard for SEO they wouldn't be putting a tag on it.

[McTaggart]

I agree. I've been in touch about the developer's work now. It's simply not good practice, yet. I've heard that Bing is more definite in its advice on H1 than Google.

[EGOL]

No, Google just beat the value out of the H1 to the point its on life support..

I agree.  That's why having 18 of them on one of your pages probably isn't going to tank your site.

I am not advocating more than one H1 tag... just sayin' that I don't think that this is a big deal.

[AWCthreads]

Nobody said it would tank a site nor was it asked if it would tank a site. Until the H1 goes by way of meta keywords, the use of it will have some relevance and in my opinion should be used properly.

Of 200 plus algorithm elements, there are undoubtedly plenty of others that are "not a big deal" but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use them correctly.

Whew, there sure has been a lot of time spent on something that's "not a big deal."

[Dr-Pete]

To be fair, how do you know that they're "spammy", "abusive", or "irrelevant"? I've seen people just use them badly - for example, for CSS styling. Is it a best practice? No. Would I do it? No. Will it have major SEO implications in 2012? Probably not.

I've seen instances where an H1 was used badly, but not in a deliberately spammy or even irrelevant way. Developers often treat tags as much more interchangeable than they should.

[Dr-Pete]

I think Ryan's point about HTML5 is good to keep in mind, but the problem is that we don't have any great guidance on what Google thinks about HTML5 right now, at least at this level of detail. They're waiting for the standard to evolve into common practice, just like the rest of us. I suspect, though, that if HTML5 is changing the rules, they may scale back their judgment.

[randfish]

Hi AWC - this is tangential to the topic, but important for Q+A and Moz community participation in general.

Please, in the future, work to be as generous and empathetic in replies as possible. This community is meant to be a haven from many of the nastier corners of the web and while your comment was not excessively insulting, it wasn't kind either. Contributions both big and small are welcome here, as are opinions.

If we're going to maintain the amazing community here, we have to be mindful about the impacts of negativity. Thanks for understanding.

[AWCthreads]

I understand. Good reminder.