Could incorrect H1 tag stop a page ranking?

[SamCUK]

A few weeks ago I added an image to the top of each page and somehow (I've only just noticed) the image was inside an h1 tag. Presumably this would be the first element google would crawl  and would it consider the image the h1 possibly confusing google about the pages content? My actual h1 further down the page would then possible be disregarded by google? The pages I am talking about have dropped in google and I wonder if this could have been the issue?

[OlegKorneitchouk]

Could very likely be the case. The H1 of the page could be the alt tag of that image instead of the 2nd H1 tag. Although it shouldn't drastically effect ranking, try removing it and see if your site rebounds.

[ChristopherM]

Hi Samuel,

The H1 element on a page plays a large roll in ranking, but it isn't the only factor. I had a client once whose web designer placed the websites logo in an H1 tag, by removing the H1 tag, and correctly playing the targeted keywords in the H1 tag per page, we managed to jump up the ranks fairly well.

My opinion on this matter is that this could well be the problem, but if things don't change within the next 7 days, then I would look at a full audit on one of the pages in question.

It is also important to note that you should only use one H1 tag per page, and rather use H2 or H3 for subsequent "titles".

I hope that helps!