An empty H1 tag - one that exists in the HTML but contains no text - is worse than having no H1 at all. It tells search engines that the page has a primary heading, but provides no information about the page topic. Empty H1 tags typically result from template errors, CSS-only headings, or image-based headings without alt text.

This guide shows you how to find every page with an empty H1 tag using the crawler.sh CLI.

Step 1: Install crawler.sh CLI

Install the CLI with a single command:

curl -fsSL https://install.crawler.sh | sh

This downloads the correct binary for your operating system and architecture, places it in ~/.crawler/bin/, and adds it to your PATH. Restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or ~/.zshrc) to pick up the new PATH entry.

Verify the installation:

crawler --version

Step 2: Crawl the target website

Run a full crawl of the website you want to audit:

crawler crawl https://example.com

The crawler extracts H1 tag content from every page. Results are saved as an NDJSON file (.crawl) in the current directory. For larger sites:

crawler crawl https://example.com --max-pages 5000

Step 3: Run SEO audit

Run the SEO analysis on your crawl data:

crawler seo example-com.crawl

The empty H1 check flags every page where an <h1> element exists but contains no visible text.

Step 4: Identify empty H1 tags

Look for the Empty H1 section in the SEO report. Common causes of empty H1 tags:

H1 tags containing only an image with no alt text (<h1><img src="..."></h1>)
H1 tags with text set to display: none or visibility: hidden via CSS
Template placeholders that were never filled in
H1 tags with only whitespace or HTML entities
JavaScript-dependent headings that are empty in the initial HTML

Step 5: Fix and re-crawl

For each page with an empty H1:

Add descriptive text to the H1 that summarizes the page’s main topic
Add alt text if the H1 wraps an image - or better, use text with CSS for styling
Remove empty H1 tags entirely if the page has another proper H1
Fix template logic that creates empty heading elements

After fixing, re-crawl to verify:

crawler crawl https://example.com
crawler seo example-com.crawl

Why empty H1 tags matter for SEO

Search engines parse the H1 tag for topic signals. An empty H1 provides a contradictory signal - the page declares a primary heading but provides no content for it. This can confuse search engine algorithms and represents a missed opportunity to reinforce your page’s target keywords. Filling in empty H1 tags is a quick fix that strengthens both your SEO and your page’s accessibility for screen reader users.