Quick answer
Remove empty H1–H6 elements or give them meaningful text that describes the section they introduce. NOTABIS reports empty-heading when a measured heading contains no trimmed text. The finding is a low-priority structure and accessibility review, not an automatic ranking problem.
What the issue means
An empty heading often comes from a conditional component, a missing CMS value, or a visual spacer:
<h2></h2>
Heading tags should identify real sections. Use CSS margins or another layout element for spacing, and use a paragraph or label when the text is not a section heading. An ARIA label or CSS-generated text may make a control understandable to some users, but it does not give this markup check visible heading text.
Why it matters for SEO
Empty headings provide no useful topic context and can make heading navigation confusing for screen-reader users. Search systems may ignore them, but there is no specific ranking penalty for one empty element. The sensible fix is to correct the component or remove the unused heading rather than insert keywords or placeholder text.
How NOTABIS detects it
The empty-heading rule examines H1 through H6 elements in the measured HTML and records an issue when one or more have empty trimmed text content. It is page-scoped. The check does not inspect aria-label, aria-labelledby, CSS content, visual visibility, or headings inserted after JavaScript runs.
How to check it yourself
Search the rendered DOM and View Source for h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, and h6, then inspect each empty match in desktop, mobile, and conditional states. Look for CMS fields that render an empty element when a title is absent and for hidden components left in the DOM.
How to fix it
Render a heading only when the section has a real title, or supply the missing value from the content source. Keep the level consistent with its parent section:
<h2>Delivery options</h2>
If the element was used as a spacer, remove it and use CSS. Recheck anchor links, table-of-contents code, and accessibility-tree output after the template change.
When this is intentional or does not need fixing
A hidden template branch may contain an empty heading that is never exposed, although leaving it in the DOM can still confuse scripts and assistive technology. An empty heading is not justified as a styling hook. Confirm the rendered state before changing third-party or route-specific components.
Related issues
Review missing H1 tags, multiple H1 tags, and skipped heading levels together so a fix improves the whole heading tree.
Run a NOTABIS audit
NOTABIS identifies pages with headings whose measured text is empty, helping you trace the result to a conditional component or content field.