PHP and H1 tag SEO question

Hi, your help / knowledge is appreciated.

I'm doing some SEO work for a client who has a PHP website.

Please can you look at the following 'header' code. Is the 'page-heading' tag the same as having an H1 tag in the code? I want to ensure that the headlines are set up to be read by Google robots as H1 tag. Does this need changing???

<div class="page-heading">Browse Property for sale - Al Reef Villas, Reem island</div>

Thanks in advance!

 

As of now its no heading, but a simple div.
From what i see you have 2 options
- rename div to h1 and all the classes css style should be copied over. Given the css comes after other h1 styles h1 { ... }
- enclose the text inside the div with h1

Both methods require that you maybe have to recode a bit of css, or add a some new. Cant say for sure, since we dont know your full css, but that you will see after changing it

 

Thanks Basti. Appreciate the advice!

 

To clarify, 'page-heading' is a CLASS, classes exist for the application of style and are NOT a tag, they're and attribute. The class attribute is as a rule of thumb is ignored by search engines, so no... the TAG being used there is a DIV, not "page-heading".

Which means the page was written without semantics -- if the main page heading is screwed up that way, it's likely all the other 'headings' on the page are screwed up too.

NOT that you should be choosing tags for SEO purposes -- you should be choosing them for semantic markup, saying what things ARE on the page to provide a logical document structure. H1 being the heading under which ALL sections of the page are subsections, H2 being the start of subsections of the H2, H3 being the start of subsections of the H2, so forth down the line to H6, and HR indicating a change in topic where a heading is undesired/unwarranted. (page footer for example)... of course, that's why HTML 5's "SECTION" and "NAV" tags are pointless bloat.

If you have proper semantic markup, separation of presentation from content, logical document structure and content of value, on-page SEO should happen naturally without any of the idiotic scam-artist bull the "SEO Experts" run their ignorant mouths about. That you are asking about H1 vs. DIV.page-header on SEO grounds instead of an accessibility / graceful degradation one means you may have run afoul of that sort of nonsense.

As the people running the search engines keep telling us, write for the users, NOT the engines.

 

Thanks DS, assumptions about why I was asking aside, very useful.

 

Well, had to make a LOT of assumptions as you didn't say the page it's on... though a Google search probably means you are talking about this site:
http://www.fcprop.net/sale.php

Which -- I'm going to be BRUTALLY FRANK with you -- is an unholy train wreck of non-semantic half-assed outdated markup, so MOST of what I said applies... design-wise the inaccessible fixed width layout, inaccessible absurdly undersized px metric fonts, illegible color contrasts, add up to the classic trifecta of fail at accessible design, and that's without even going under the hood.

Endless pointless 'scripting for nothing', nothing even remotely resembling semantic accessible layout or logical document structure, gibberish use of numbered heading tags, tables for layout, tables for NOTHING (one TD per TR == /FAIL/), bandwidth wasting flash for NOTHING of value, attributes like TARGET, BORDER and ALIGN that have no business in any markup written after 1997...

Basically everything outlined in my "what's wrong with your website" article can be found on that -- evidenced by the 50k of markup to deliver 5k of plaintext and 11 content images -- anywhere from three to five times as much code as should have been used for such a simple (crippled) layout.

If you're worried about "SEO" nonsense, you are better off worrying about the accessibility and semantics... and if you are worried about the accessibility and semantics, that entire site should be thrown in the trash and started over from scratch using development methodology that doesn't have it's head wedged up 1997's backside.

Admittedly, most clients don't want to hear that even when it's the truth, because it usually means some scam artist already ripped them off, and they're too embarrassed to admit it.

 

DS, appreciate the candid insight and assessment. Design and dev was done long prior to my involvement. I'll try to make best of a far from ideal situation. Thanks again.