Heading Structure Auditor
Check a page for skipped levels, missing H1s and the outline crawlers actually see.
What it checks
- Lists every H1 to H6 on the page in document order, indented by level, so you see the outline a crawler reads.
- Flags a page with no H1, and a page with more than one.
- Flags each place the outline skips a level on the way down, such as an H2 followed by an H4.
- Ignores headings inside scripts, styles and templates, and headings with no text, such as image-only headings.
- Shortens headings longer than 120 characters in the outline.
Reading the result
Read the outline before the issues. It should work as a table of contents: one H1 that names the topic, H2s for the main sections, H3s inside them. Headings such as Menu, Newsletter or Follow us in the middle usually come from the theme and can be changed to plain text.
Fix a missing or duplicate H1 first, then skipped levels. Moving back up, for example from an H4 to an H2 when a new section starts, is normal and is not flagged.
The audit reads the HTML your server sends, before JavaScript runs, and it includes headings hidden with CSS. If sections you see in the browser are missing, JavaScript adds them; if the outline shows headings you did not expect, they are hidden in the markup.
Questions
Is more than one H1 a problem?
Google has said several H1s do not hurt rankings, but one H1 makes the topic unambiguous for readers, screen readers and other crawlers. If your theme wraps the logo or site name in an H1, change that one.
Do heading levels affect rankings?
Indirectly. Headings tell search engines and AI assistants which text answers which question, and a clean outline helps readers scan the page and assistants quote it. A skipped level on its own will not sink a page.
Why are some of my headings missing from the outline?
Either JavaScript adds them after the page loads, or they are styled text rather than real h1 to h6 elements. The audit reads only real heading tags in the HTML your server sends.
This checks one page, once. Your crew checks every page, every week, and fixes what it finds.
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