AI Heading Structure Checker — Optimise for AI Citations
Paste your content and instantly analyse the H-tag hierarchy for AI citation readiness.
How to use this tool
- 1Paste your content
Copy your blog post, landing page, or article - including all headings and body text. Supports both Markdown (##) and HTML (<h2>) formats.
- 2Review structure and issues
The tool extracts your heading hierarchy, checks for level jumps, missing H1s, vague headings, and any structure that reduces AI citation readiness.
- 3Fix and rescore
Make edits based on the recommendations and paste updated content to rescore. Aim for 85+ for maximum AI citation eligibility.
Why heading structure drives AI citations
How AI systems use headings
When AI systems extract passages to cite, they use headings as "section labels" to understand what each block of content is about. An H2 reading "How to fix Core Web Vitals" tells an AI system that the following content answers that specific question - making it far more likely to be cited when someone asks that question.
The correct heading hierarchy
Every page should have exactly one H1 (the page topic), multiple H2s (major sections), and optional H3s nested under H2s. Skipping from H1 to H3 is a structural error - not just a best practice violation. Google explicitly documents heading hierarchy as a semantic signal for content understanding.
Why question-style headings win
Google's PAA algorithm and AI systems are fundamentally question-answering machines. When an H2 heading matches the format of a search query or People Also Ask question, the section below it becomes a direct answer candidate. Frame at least 30-40% of your H2s as questions about the topic.
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