I just noticed while editing a 900-word piece in Google Docs last night that the first H2 restates the headline — why do we do it that way? Is it helping SEO or readability, or are we just repeating ourselves out of habit?
Duplicating the H1 as the first H2 is mostly a CMS habit, not an SEO win — kinda like wearing two name tags. Turn that first H2 into the concrete promise or key takeaway (‘headings should clarify, not echo’) and watch scroll depth; Google’s starter guide backs structure over repetition: SEO Starter Guide: The Basics | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers. If your template pulls the first H2 into promos or a TOC, that’s the one good reason to keep it.
I stopped echoing the headline and rewrite the opening subhead to answer what you’ll get in the next 30 seconds; time-on-page went up and pogo-sticking dropped on our how-tos. > If your template pulls the first H2 into promos or a TOC, that’s the one good reason to keep it. In that case I keep a short echo for cards and put the real payoff in the next subhead — does your CMS surface that subhead anywhere?