A few weeks back I was talking to one of my buddies in the group who was workshopping different ideas for the H1 of his agency's home page.
I told him that one day I wanted to scrape a bunch of agency websites and see what kinds of things are popular, if there are any trends, or find some inspiration.
And today's that day!
My Process for Scraping
Since the H1 of the home page could have a pretty healthy impact on the rankings in search engines, I didn't want to use Google search to find my list of agencies. I knew that depending on what search term I used, that would greatly affect the data I collected.
So, I went with two different options (for two different sets of data).
The Admin Bar Job Board Directory
The TAB Job Board Directory was a quick and easy place to scrape together about 100 different agency websites, since I already had a list of the URLs .
I went through these websites one-by-one collecting the H1 tag from their home page (and no, I didn't just grab the “biggest” headline — I made sure it was the H1 on the page).
Google Business Profile
Since the Job Board is a pretty niche set of data (all WordPress-focused agencies), I wanted to get some more broad results. Instead of turning to Google search, I used Google Business Profiles since that would rely less on “keywords” and more on the category of business they had listed in their profile.
To get a wider swath of data I took ~10 results from major markets across the globe including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, London, and Sydney.
The H1 Data
Later in the article (make sure to read through to the end) I will give some additional commentary on what I found (which was quite shocking), but first, let's take a look at the data.
EDIT: This post has brought up some really interesting conversations inside our group. It's become clear that there is some real misunderstanding on semantic HTML and heading tags. Kevin Powell has an amazing video on this topic, so if you want to learn more about headings (and how they should be used) check out this video:
The Admin Bar Job Board Directory
These results are in no particular order, however I did remove any of the H1's that included the company name, just for anonymity's sake (and since that didn't seem to be super helpful anyway).
Graphic Design & Web Design, Donegal, Ireland. |
Hi, I'm Zack |
Coding with a fresh cup of coffee |
Earn More Money. Work Less Hours. Attract Better Patients |
Development for Designers |
Website Design & Marketing to Grow Your Business. |
Helping businesses and organizations create a strong online presence. |
White label WordPress website development for SEOs, designers and digital marketers |
White-labelWeb Developmentfor Designers &Agencies |
Website Development & Support for Busy Entrepreneurs |
We are web development… |
Hassle-Free Website Design & Development |
Compelling digital experiences that elevate your business. |
DIGITAL MARKETING SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS |
WordPress Website Design, WordPress Care Plans & Managed Web Hosting |
Branding, Design and Accessibility for Nonprofits | DC and Maryland |
Website design and digital strategy to support your mission |
Amplify Your Online Presence the Right Way |
Get More Done With aWP Website Support Teamto Call Your Own |
Outside-the-box Website Development |
On time, on budget, and beyond expectations. |
We make complicated things simple. |
Website Design & Brand Design |
Helping Small Businesses Get Found Online |
Refreshing App Designs. |
Like something I coded? Caffeinate me! |
the future of tech-design |
Nationwide and Tupelo MS Digital Marketing & SEO Agency Located in Baldwyn, MS |
We provide UNIQUE marketing SOLUTIONS that bring VALUE to your customers and grow your business. |
Brand + Website + Marketing |
Kansas Web Design Company |
Oakland WordPress Support Services |
Web Design Gold Coast |
Your business deserves a professional, beautiful website that just works. |
Are you a Chicagoland business looking for a reliable website partner? |
We Don't Just Design Websites – We Build Sites To Get Results |
one-stop website services |
WORDPRESS DEVELOPMENT |
Digital Marketing Edmonton, AB |
Atlanta Web Design AND SEO Marketing Agency |
Technology Support for Your Small Business |
Beautiful Websites Designed To Get Local Professionals New Clients |
Website Design, Care Plans and SEO Marketing Services |
White Label Digital Marketing Agency |
Eliminate Tech anxiety and Marketing overwhelm |
LOCAL MARKETING IS CHALLENGING.WE HELP MAKE IT SIMPLE & PROFITABLE. |
Hi, I'm David. |
Website + Branding + Design |
WordPress web designer with 12+ years of web design experience. I can create new websites, work with existing websites & troubleshoot for you. |
Helping you grow your business online |
WordPress web design and sales funnels. You run your business.I'll run your website. |
Building websites that deliver more leads to your business |
What we can do for you |
Affordable website design & social media services |
Bring your brand to life with eye-catching design |
Branding and Website Design |
Websites for experts |
Business Solutions, LLC |
UK Based Local SEO Company |
Grow More.Sell More. |
Website Design. Website Support. |
Website Design & Digital Marketing |
Creators of Exceptional Websites & Apps |
Reliable Whitelabel WordPress Development for Digital Agencies |
Á la Carte Marketing for Small Business |
Websites Built for Business |
Think, Design, Smile. |
Expert malware scanning cleanup & site audits |
Freelance WordPress website developer specializing in custom WordPress themes |
Building digital experiences for brands who want to reach their ideal customers. |
Website Design & Consulting for People Who'd Rather Be Outside |
You've worked hard to establish your business. |
Websites that Grow Your Business |
Web Design in Barnard Castle, Durham |
WEBSITES & DIGITAL MARKETING |
Major Market Google Business Profile
For the major market category, I put in every H1 I found for the top ~10 results in each market (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, London, & Sydney).
Design a Website That Converts |
Web Design and Marketing Agency |
Award Winning Design Services Since 2011 |
Web Design Company in Los Angeles |
Digital Marketing & Web Design Services |
READY TO STEP IT UP? |
Exhibea |
Visualab Design is a Los Angeles,CA based Graphic & Web Design and Digital Marketing Studio. |
We create websites that turn your visitors into customers. |
Welcome to L.A. Design Studio |
Web Agency |
Create a custom photography website on WordPress |
HIGH ARTE Marketing, Graphic & Web Design |
New York City Web Design Firm |
New York Website Designer |
Website Design & Digital Marketing Agency Sharply Tuned for Growth |
Big Drop Inc – Web Design Company |
We Build Beautiful & Powerful Websites |
WEB DESIGN |
Mobile App Design& Development + |
NYC's Top IT Solutions, Digital Marketing Agency & E-Commerce Solutions |
FULL CONTACT CREATIVE |
WEB DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT |
Marketing & Creative |
Houston Web Design Experts |
We Build SEO Enhanced WebsitesTo Connect With Your CustomersAnd GROW YOUR BUSINESS RAPIDLY. |
Houston Web Design and SEO Company |
Custom Designed |
Trusted & Reliable Texas Web Design, SEO & Digital Marketing Agency |
28+ Years of Website Design |
World's leading WordPress agency |
Want to add MORE VALUE to your business with better technology? You've come to the right place. |
EVERYTHING YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO SUCCEED |
Affordable Website Design & Development for Small Business in Chicago |
Award-winning Chicago web design and development company |
MOST TRUSTED WEB DESIGN & SEO COMPANY IN THE MIDWEST |
SEO DESIGN CHICAGO – Chicago , IL |
A Chicago web design company since 2009. |
Web design for brands |
Want to add MORE VALUE to your business with better technology? You've come to the right place. |
Phoenix Web Design Company |
Fyresite Builds Modern Websites & Mobile Apps |
A Phoenix Web Design Company Driven by Results |
Phoenix Website Design |
A custom website that's easy on your budget |
Redesigning a Company Website?Here's Why to Consider Partnering with Us: |
Welcome To Phoenix Web Design Pros |
Web design London |
Web Design WordPress Agency Makes Your Website Works For You … Fast! |
Versatile in what we do |
Pro Web Design |
Web Design Agency London |
WordPress Web Design London |
Bringing Brands to Life Digitally. |
The original london web design agency |
Online Web Design Agency London |
Web Design Bath & London |
Sydney website design + web development digital agency |
WordPress Developers You Can Trust |
Branding, Web Design and Marketing Agency Sydney |
We're Web Design City |
Sydney's Principal Design Agency |
You've found the experts in creative web design in Sydney |
Web Design Sydney |
We're Web Design City |
Interesting Tidbits
There were a couple things I found pretty interesting doing this research.
A lot of poor HTML structure exists
I was absolutely shocked at how many sites I visited had some pretty fundamental flaws in the HTML structure, including:
- No H1
- Multiple H1's (one site has 16)
- Other heading levels before their H1
- H1's that have zero relevance to their work
- Using <br> tags in the middle of their headline with no spaces, creating words to run together in the code.
We're not talking about a few here or there — I would say at least 50% of the sites I visited had some obvious issues (this number was much higher (like 80%+ of them) on the TAB Directory than it was in my Google Business Profile search).
Creative VS Factual
It was pretty interesting how many people took a “marketing” angle to their H1, using fancier language to try and appeal to their visitor, while others took a much more matter-of-fact approach with H1's like “Web Design”.
Which is the right way to go? Well, I'm not going to claim to be an SEO expert and I don't know your business — so it's hard to say!
A lot of agencies don't acquire much business from organic results (where the H1 might have more impact), but rely on referrals and word-of-mouth.
But this creates an interesting chicken or the egg conundrum… Does the H1 not matter so much, since things aren't coming from search? Or, if their H1's were better optimized for search, perhaps they would get more organic traffic?
🤔 🤷
What should your H1 be?
All of this data and research is purely anecdotal — and I'm not sure there is any clear answer. But maybe this post makes you think twice about yours and gives you some inspiration on finding what works best for you!
Here's what ahrefs has to say on the topic, which is (obviously) going to be a lot more authoritative than our general banter.
You might be in a position where you need to attract more visits to your website — in which case, a more factual and straight to the point H1 might be best.
Or, you might be more worried about the impression of the visitor because you already have reliable traffic sources or rankings.
I'd love to know your thoughts on this — so hop on into the group and share in this dedicated thread about this post.