[pgo]

Quick question - is it appropriate for headings to be repeated - that is, to use <h4> maybe 5 times in a large document? Or is that a no-no for SEO?

[cam]

as long as it comes after h1, h2, h3 it's fine - nesting headings properly is good.

don't think it'd have a huge impact on SEO but making sure your h1 element is descriptive is usually a good idea.

[pgo]

That's what I thought.

I generally do a single H1, then successively use H2 and H3 through the content of each document.

H4-H6 may often end up in the sidebar...if there is one.

Thanks cam.

[lyndon]

AFAIK, the H tags are not reusable within a page, once declared that it done - any further declarations are either ignored of overwrite the original.

[pgo]

Originally Posted by lyndon

AFAIK, the H tags are not reusable within a page, once declared that it done - any further declarations are either ignored of overwrite the original.

I don't think that's right. Almost every relatively complex site you visit uses tons of H tags. If they were unique like ID attributes, then you could only have 6 headings per page, at the most...

I couldn't find anything at the W3C about it. I have such a hard time finding anything on that site anyway.

[lyndon]

Sorry - you can re-use them for text displaying purposes, however the search engines (google, msn and Y! at least) will only read one valid use of each tag (from experience with attempted H stuffing!). [edit] The text will still be visible to the SE but not weighted accordingly. [/edit]

[pgo]

Originally Posted by lyndon

Sorry - you can re-use them for text displaying purposes, however the search engines (google, msn and Y! at least) will only read one valid use of each tag (from experience with attempted H stuffing!).

Oooooooh. I see.

Interesting. I'll have to take that into consideration - thanks for the heads up (get it "heads up")!

[Limbo]

To expand on what cam said. You can repeat as many sub headings as many times as you like so long as they follow sematics.

Your H1 which should only EVER be declared once - this the second most valuable piece of text on you page (for spiders)

e.g.

H1> Design
H2> Fees
H3> How Much
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad
H3> How to pay
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad
H2> Styles
H3> Art Deco
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad
H3> Rustica
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad
H3> Moderne
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad

[pgo]

That's what I thought - and what I do, generally.

[nakedintruder]

I think of them in the same way as you structure lists, eg.

• h1
  • h2
    • h3
      • h4
    • h3
    • h3
  • h2
  • h2
  • h2
    • h3

[pgo]

Same here.

[BlueMountainSam]

Don't you think you are diluting the value of H tags by doing the repetitions.

[Luke Redpath]

Originally Posted by BlueMountainSam

Don't you think you are diluting the value of H tags by doing the repetitions.

How do you mean? The primary purpose (and thus, the CORE value) of Hx tags is to mark up your page headings...not score search engine points.

Hx tags can and should be used as many times as you like where appropriate, whilst maintaining a hierarchial structure as pointed out above.

And you signed up just to say that