I came across the question recently and decided to start this blog with an answer
Im pretty new to Screaming Frog, I understand majority of the results but i dont understand the H1 section There are two H1’s H1-1 and H1-2 With regards to the H1-2 Is this the second H1 title? And how important is this? Does it have to be there, or preferably not? Is it bad to duplicate H1 tags Whats the difference in duplicating and H1’s or having two different H1 tags
First of all, always put yourself in the position of your user when applying any SEO strategy. If it doesnt make sense to do, say or apply something, just leave it out.
Is this the second H1 title?
Yes it is.
And how important is this?
Its depends on the content, if the content is lengthy and it makes sense to you, then use the second H1
Do they have to be filled in, or preferably not? – How bad is it as an H1 title is duplicate? – What is the difference with duplicate and multiple by h1
H1 tags emphasizes a level of importance on your document.
H2 tags do the same with slightly less significance.
Both of these tags tell the user/viewer, hey.. look at me, I am important. I am the tone of the document, article etc.
Search engines apply the same emphasis because its logical. As a blogger you wouldnt use an H1 tag if it wasn’t crucial that you drew the users attention to the encapsulated phrase.
That being said, If you use more than 2 H1 tags in your document then they all loose its value.
Consider this : Put 10 people in a room, if one shouts you will hear them and listen to what he/she says. If 2 people shout one after the other, you will hear them both and register what each has said. If they all shout then it just becomes noise, nothing makes sense and no one is given any attention. This is why I think Screaming Frog shows you 2 H1 Tags. They understand that a lengthy document can have two people shouting or driving a point at different times. Repeating the exact phrase in your second H1 is pointless, why emphasis exactly the same thing twice? If you have to use a second H1 in the same document then do it when the tone or subject of the document changes or if you feel its necessary. In the case of Screaming Frog, the sequence H1-1 and H1-2 has nothing to do with more important or less important, its simply the order in which Screaming Frog found the H1 titles in your document. Search engines and humans would however interpret the first H1 as more important.