120 SEO Rules
Rules: Meta & Headings
Rules covering <title>, meta descriptions, OpenGraph tags, and H1–H6 heading hierarchy.
Title tags and heading elements provide search engines and users with immediate semantic context about page topics and keyword relevance.
Title & Description Rules
META-001 — Missing <title> Tag
- Severity:
ALERT(-5 pts) - Heuristic: The document
<head>contains no<title>element, or the tag contains only whitespace. - Why It Matters: The title tag is one of the single most influential on-page ranking signals and is displayed as the primary clickable headline in search results.
- How to Fix: Add a concise, keyword-focused
<title>inside<head>.
META-002 / META-003 — Title Tag Length Issues
- Severity:
WARNING(-2 pts) - Heuristic:
META-002: Title is shorter than 20 characters (under-optimized).META-003: Title exceeds 65 characters or ~600 pixels width (truncated in SERP).
- Why It Matters: Titles that are too short fail to convey clear value; titles that are too long get clipped with an ellipsis (
...) on Google search result pages. - How to Fix: Aim for titles between 45 and 60 characters that frontload important primary keywords.
META-004 — Duplicate Title Tags
- Severity:
ALERT(-5 pts) - Heuristic: Two or more distinct indexable URLs share the exact same title tag string.
- Why It Matters: Causes keyword cannibalization—search engines struggle to understand which URL is the canonical authority for that query.
- How to Fix: Give every unique URL a distinct, descriptive title.
META-005 — Missing Meta Description
- Severity:
WARNING(-2 pts) - Heuristic: No
<meta name="description" content="...">tag found in<head>. - Why It Matters: While not a direct ranking factor, meta descriptions determine organic Click-Through Rate (CTR) in search snippets.
- How to Fix: Write an engaging summary between 120 and 155 characters that includes a clear call-to-action.
Heading Hierarchy Rules
H1-001 — Missing <h1> Heading
- Severity:
ALERT(-5 pts) - Heuristic: HTML
<body>contains zero<h1>tags. - Why It Matters: Search engines use the top-level H1 heading to understand the primary subject of the webpage.
- How to Fix: Add a single
<h1>tag at the top of your page content.
H1-002 — Multiple <h1> Headings
- Severity:
WARNING(-2 pts) - Heuristic: HTML document contains two or more
<h1>tags. - Why It Matters: Multiple H1s dilute topical clarity and make document outlines confusing for screen readers and search bots.
- How to Fix: Reserve
<h1>for the main title and convert subheadings into<h2>or<h3>.
H1-004 — Skipped Heading Hierarchy Levels
- Severity:
WARNING(-2 pts) - Heuristic: A heading jumps levels downwards without the intermediate heading (e.g.
<h1>followed directly by<h3>with no<h2>). - Why It Matters: Violates W3C semantic accessibility standards and disrupts structural document outlines.
- How to Fix: Nest headings sequentially:
<h1>→<h2>→<h3>.