If you take the time to regularly write blogs, you probably want people to read them, right? Luckily, there are many easy things you can do to improve the quality and reach of your posts, and to keep readers engaged. Using subheadings in your blog posts is one of the more effective ways you can do all this. Even if you already use subheadings, you may learn a thing or two about improving them below.
Subheadings vs Headings
Subheadings are headings used under the main heading to expand on different aspects of the same topic. You probably notice that they appear in smaller text than the main headings. These subheadings help create a logical flow in your blog posts. They also break up the text and can be an opportunity to use your keywords in an impactful way.
Structurally, they are used as you would an outline. There is a main topic and overview(your heading) and then there are all the points to make within that overview, which become your subheadings.
Subheadings in Your Blog Posts Help with SEO
One of the biggest benefits of using subheadings in your blog posts is the easy boost they give to your SEO. Because they are an opportunity to use your keywords! These keywords should, of course, be used in your post titles and headings, but using at least one subheading containing your exact keyword phrase creates an optimal effect.
Why? Because these subheadings are a chance to use your keywords to reinforce your topic so that search engines can recognize the relevance of your post.
Of course, you don’t want to use them out of context for this reason. You’ll still need to be mindful of not overusing your keywords as well. Overusing keywords does more harm than good. So, give it some thought and make sure they fit in well within the structure of the blog and make sense where they are used.
If your blog has an SEO plug-in, this can be your guide to how many keywords you should use, how they are best distributed, and when you can add them to your subheadings. After a while, you will begin to intuitively understand how often they should be used and it becomes natural.
Using Keywords Creatively in Your Subheadings
Most SEO plug-ins will favor using keywords at the beginning of your headings and subheadings in your blog posts. You can change this up, depending on how often you’ve used them in your headings and elsewhere. It should also be noted that longer texts will ideally use keywords more often, and vice versa. The optimal keyword usage per word count is one time per every 100-200 words, or a density of 1-2%.
You can also use variations on your keywords and phrases. This takes a little extra research( or using keyword planner tools), but if you use a premium version of an SEO plug-in, you can add these keywords or phrases and they will be factored into the SEO analysis.
You can get creative with subheadings in your blog posts even while using your keywords or phrases directly. The best way to do this is to start by creating a subheading which gives a clear and succinct overview of the content that follows.
From there you can choose to ask or answer questions. You can break them up with colons, and em dashes. You can incorporate humor, or pique interest.
A note on using your keywords at the beginning of your subheading. This is only necessary when you may not have used your keywords often enough elsewhere. And doing this with every subheading can make it seem monotonous or awkward to read. So use your best judgment.
The Structure of Your Posts Matter
Did you know that the structure of your posts matter for SEO too? It does! Using subheadings in your blog posts not only improves your SEO score by creating a chance to use your keywords to establish relevance, it also helps with readability. And readability is factored into your overall SEO score.
But readability also matters for blog visitors too! Think of the difference you experience in reading an unbroken wall of text compared to one that is composed of shorter paragraphs. Did you know that studies show around 60% of readers online only scan the content? Subheadings help people scan more easily and find what is relevant to them.
Using shorter paragraphs makes the text easier to scan and read. And using subheadings not only captures your reader’s attention, it tells them what to expect from the text as they scan and read.
Also, it just looks better and more organized. It gives your reader a little break, and guides them through more complicated topics.
If you want to read more on content structure, why it matters, and how you can improve yours, this blog is for you.
Using Subheadings in Your Blog Posts Will Keep Readers Engaged
Because those overwhelming walls of text are broken up by using subheadings in your blog posts, readers will be more likely to continue reading. Subheadings also give context within the main headings.
We mentioned getting creative with your blog post subheadings above. We recommend this not only to prevent monotony and repetition, but also because each heading and subheading is a chance to give an overview and establish the relevance of what follows. This keeps your readers engaged. You can think of each heading and subheading as a chance to sneak in a subtle CTA(call to action).
Subheadings make your readers want to know more. They also establish the topic, so if they’re scanning the page, they will stay engaged. Or they may jump down to the next heading seeking answers to a particular question.
The longer the word count in your blog post, the more you will want to break it up with headings and subheadings. This keeps the reader engaged and keeps them from being overwhelmed. You can use multiple subheadings under one heading as well. It’s best to max out at 300 words of text before breaking it up with subheadings, or new headings, for this reason.
An Overview on Using Subheadings in Your Blog Posts
Subheadings are a chance to boost your SEO.
Using your keywords at the beginning of your subheading is best.
Subheadings make the topic clear and keep the text organized.
You can use them to keep your readers engaged.
Using subheadings in your blog post make them visually more appealing.
You don’t need to overuse keywords in your blog post subheadings—one or two is enough.
Multiple subheadings can be used under one heading.
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