The Repetitive Margins
Google Docs assumes that most multi-page documents require consistent branding or page numbering. By default, when you double-click in the top or bottom one-inch margin of a page, Docs automatically creates a Header or Footer. Crucially, any text, image, or page number you place inside this area is automatically repeated on every single subsequent page of the document. While this is standard behavior for academic papers, it is incredibly annoying if you simply wanted to place a single, large logo at the very top of page one, only to find that logo obscuring text on pages two through fifty.
Isolating the First Page
To prevent repetitive branding and stop Google Docs from automatically adding the same header to every page, you must tell the document to treat the first page differently.
Double-click inside the top margin of your document to activate the Header area. A faint grey bounding box will appear around the margin, and a small “Options” dropdown menu will appear on the right side. Before you type anything, look at the small checkbox that appears directly below the header line. It is labelled Different first page. Check this box. Now, any text or image you place in the header on page one will remain exclusively on page one. The headers on page two and beyond will remain completely blank until you explicitly click into them and add different content.