Headings are the outline a machine uses to split your page into passages, and well built headings make each passage self explanatory. The bottom line: use one H1, use an H2 for each question or main point, phrase headings the way a customer asks, put the answer directly beneath, and treat headings as a structure for extraction, not as a ranking trick, because no published study isolates their effect on AI citations.
Related: our guide to answer engine optimization defines the term and lists eight steps.
Why headings matter to a machine
A retrieval system does not read a page top to bottom the way a person does. It splits pages into passages, scores them against the question, and passes a few to the model. Headings are the clearest boundary markers in the HTML. Research on how models read long inputs found that performance is highest when relevant information is at the beginning or end and drops when it sits in the middle, and AirOps found 44 percent of ChatGPT citations came from the first 30 percent of a page. A heading that names the question, followed by the answer, creates a passage that stands alone near the point where a system looks.
The rules
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| One H1 per page, matching the page's subject | It states the page's topic once and unambiguously |
| An H2 for each question or main point | Each becomes a separate, quotable passage |
| H3 only for sub points under an H2 | Keeps the hierarchy honest for machines and readers |
| Do not skip levels | An H4 under an H2 breaks the outline |
| Describe, do not tease | 'Pricing for a 3 person team' is extractable. 'The part everyone gets wrong' is not |
| Phrase headings like customer questions where natural | ChatGPT prompts average 23 words, so full questions echo how people ask |
| Put the answer in the first sentence after the heading | Answer first survives extraction |
Before and after
| Weak heading | Stronger heading |
|---|---|
| Our approach | How we replace a commercial rooftop HVAC unit in one day |
| Why choose us | What a dental implant costs and what the price includes |
| Things to know | Which permits a kitchen remodel in Orange County needs |
Steps to audit a page
- List the headings only. Read them without the body. If the outline does not tell the story, rewrite them.
- Confirm there is exactly one H1. Themes and page builders often add a second.
- Convert vague headings to specific ones. Name the subject, the audience, or the question.
- Move the answer directly under each heading. Cut any warm up sentence that does not answer.
- Check the raw HTML. Headings inserted by JavaScript are not present for crawlers that do not run it.
- Re run your scan. Our headings check passes with exactly one H1 and at least three H2 sections.
What headings will not do
They will not make a weak page citable. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special optimization beyond being indexed and snippet eligible, and the fundamentals it lists include making important content available as text. Headings are part of clean structure. The substance beneath them decides whether a system uses the passage.
Questions people ask
How many H1s should a page have?
One. It states the page's subject. Our scan checks for exactly one H1 and at least three H2 sections.
Should headings be phrased as questions?
When the question is one customers actually ask, yes, because prompts are conversational and full questions echo them. Do not force every heading into a question.
Do headings improve AI citations?
No published study isolates their effect. They create clear passages, and research shows models use information near the start and end of their input best, so a heading followed by a direct answer is a sound structure.
Are headings added by JavaScript visible to AI crawlers?
Usually not. Vercel's analysis found the major AI crawlers do not run JavaScript, so headings must be in the raw HTML.