Number of Questions In H1 Tags counts the questions RankGear’s parser recognizes in a page’s H1 headings, summed across every H1 on the page. It shows whether a page frames its main heading as a question — not whether the page actually answers it.
| Factor ID | RG-RDB-007 |
|---|---|
| Family | Readability & questions |
| Measurement | Question count |
| Measured zone | H1 text |
What it measures
This factor counts the questions parsed from a page’s H1 headings. Because a page can carry more than one H1, the value reflects the questions found across all of them combined. It can help reveal whether ranking pages phrase a top-level heading as a question — for example to mirror a question-style search query — rather than as a declarative statement. It measures question phrasing in the H1 zone only; it does not judge whether the page resolves those questions.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses every H1 on the page, applies its question parser to each H1’s text, and sums the resulting counts into a single value. Because recognition depends on the parser’s rules, this value can differ from a manual tally of question marks in the headings, and a question the parser does not recognize will not be counted.
What RankGear looks for
<h1>How Do You Measure Page Speed?</h1> → counts as a question
<h1>Page Speed Measurement Guide</h1> → declarative, not counted| If the page is… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Below competitors whose H1 is a question | Rephrase the H1 as a question only if the page directly and fully answers it, and the wording matches how people actually search. |
| Matched to a field that uses declarative H1s | Treat the count as an observation. A declarative H1 is often the better fit; don’t add a question mark for its own sake. |
| Carrying a question H1 the page doesn’t answer | Fix the answer first, or make the H1 declarative. A question in the heading is not useful when the page leaves it unresolved. |
How to optimize it
Phrase an H1 as a question only when the entire page directly answers that question and the wording matches user intent. If a declarative heading describes the page more accurately, that is usually the better choice. Treat the number as an observation about how a page’s top-level heading is framed, not a target to inflate — adding a question mark to a heading the page does not answer improves nothing.
Important considerations
- Multiple H1s can each contribute, so the value is a sum across the whole page, not a single-heading flag.
- The metric does not assess answer quality — it only recognizes the question, not whether the page resolves it.
- Question recognition is parser-dependent, so the count can differ from a manual reading of the headings.
- A declarative H1 may be more appropriate; a question phrasing is not inherently better.
- This is a correlation-based prioritization signal within a measured result set — it relates to position, it does not make a page rank or guarantee one.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.