H1 tags in WordPress - could someone clarify this please?

[Wallander]

Hey there. I am building a site and am confused by the whole H1 tag thing in  WordPress, perhaps someone could clarify please?

When I generate a new page or post I of course enter the page or 'post title' which generates following HTML  code

class="title">Used Containers

So I was thinking, ok great now I have a H1 tag! Great...But no, according to the Yoast plugin (which uses a company called Linkdex for it's on page analysis) I don't have my keyword 'Used Containers' in any of my headings.

I then experimented by adding another H1 heading of 'Used Containers' in my WordPress page copy area and saw that it shows up written in my page source as

Used Containers

(so without the class="title"> bit in my first H1).

Could anyone be kind enough to explain:

1. The difference between the two and any known impact on SEO.

2. What is the proper way of optimizing H1 tags in WordPress?

Thanks so much!

[Serpstone]

Get rid of your second h1 tag.  A page should only have one. You are right, if your plugin is not picking it up then it's a problem with the plugin.

I think it's a bit harsh to say that h1's have minimal impact.  If you were to have a page with just a h1 title then it's not going to do much, but it's all about context.  Does your url relate to your h1, does your h1 relate to the content on the page, do your subsequent h tags ( h2, h3, etc) relate to the surrounding text.

It is true that h1 tags do not have as much weight as they once had, but just because Google et al have downgraded the importance a bit does not make h1 tags irrelevant.

Aside from search engines, h1 tags are an important part of page structure for your users (the visitors that really count).  Don't forget about users with disabilities too.

[Wallander]

Ok thanks Adam - that would indicate that the Yoast/Linkdex plugin is not working too well...but if title tags are not too important..who cares

[AdamThompson]

Either

or

is fine - both are H1 tags.

H1's appear to have minimal impact on rankings, so I wouldn't stress over them too much.