HTML 5 and Search Engine Optimization

**jamhassan** · May 25, 2012 03:43

Hi ,

Era of HTML 5 has Started. Does HTML 5 helps little bit From SEO Perspective ? I know that Content Always Matter in Search Engine Optimization . Content should be Written for Users , Not for Search Engines & should be Unique . If we have good content on Two Different Website . One with html 4.1 & Other website with HTML 5 . Which one will Rank better ?

**ralph.m** · May 25, 2012 15:23

Originally Posted by jamhassan

Era of HTML 5 has Started...

Not officially, because HTML5 is not ready yet.

Anyhow, whether you use HTML4 or 5 should make no difference in terms of SEO. They are both the same thing, really. HTML5 is basically just 4 with a few extra elements.

**topgrade** · May 27, 2012 08:26

This all depends upon the rendered contents and semantic HTML of the page, no matter if these are in done through using HTML 4 or 5 rules.

**felgall** · May 27, 2012 14:01

HTML 5 is only supposed to be used for testing out the proposed tags to see whether they should be included in the final version or not. If the search engines pay any attention to a page being written using HTML 5 at all it would therefore make sense for them to not include the page in their results at all at this time. I haven't heard of any search engines using compliance to standards as a criteria though - if they did then the 95% of web sites still using HTML 3.2 tags would be penalised.

**Sega** · May 27, 2012 14:19

Even though HTML5 is only for testing purposes, the 'era' in many new websites has started.

The chances are that if you use semantic code in your site you'd rank better. However, the new/old 'tags' themselves won't make you rank better. The search engine algorithm mostly cares about content, links and relevancy.

**Adrian98** · Jun 4, 2012 03:05

Originally Posted by jamhassan

Hi ,

Era of HTML 5 has Started. Does HTML 5 helps little bit From SEO Perspective ? I know that Content Always Matter in Search Engine Optimization . Content should be Written for Users , Not for Search Engines & should be Unique . If we have good content on Two Different Website . One with html 4.1 & Other website with HTML 5 . Which one will Rank better ?

Although the HTML5 is not officially ready yet, there are some elements of HTML5 which are being used in On site SEO process! For example the usage of Microdata for getting Rich snippets in Google SERP! Hence I think soon the HTML5 is going to have a big impression in terms of the SEO perspective!

**ralph.m** · Jun 4, 2012 03:55

Originally Posted by Adrian98

there are some elements of HTML5 ... For example the usage of Microdata

Do you mean microformats? That's not actually HTML5, so far as I know.

**Dark Tranquility** · Jun 4, 2012 04:46

Originally Posted by Adrian98

Although the HTML5 is not officially ready yet, there are some elements of HTML5 which are being used in On site SEO process! For example the usage of Microdata for getting Rich snippets in Google SERP! Hence I think soon the HTML5 is going to have a big impression in terms of the SEO perspective!

Microformats are not related to HTML5 (look at their website: http://microformats.org)

For now, using HTML5 semantic elements won't have a real effect on your SEO nor will it help your page have higher SE rankings.
Here's a good read about the matter: http://www.impressivewebs.com/html5-seo/

**toprank4ever** · Jun 4, 2012 06:28

As far as I could experience during the last weeks, microdata is getting more and more important --> I recommend everyone here to have a look at the documentation sheet at schema.org.
Currenty, what I observed was that authorship is already working quite well as a ranking factor in the SERPs.

**itmitică** · Jun 4, 2012 11:45

It's really a pointless question.

1. Take SEO as it is: marketing.
2. Any SE will aim to please the masses, not the developers or website owners.
3. Any SE will aim to please paying website owners, not masses.
3. Today, SE will serve the HTML4 website to a user as best, and at the same time, the HTML5 website to another user as the same best.
4. SE wants to take control and replace web search with their database search, i.e. give you answers not links to sites: a Googlepedia.

<hr>

HTML5 is good for those that understand its benefits. Obviously, for those that don't, HTML5 keeps the HTML4 door open, in the same multiplex.

A HTML5 web document has a better granularity, which help usability and accessibility out of the box, clear element style, not pretend div.class or attribute style.

But there are no SEO implications.

**Stevie D** · Jun 4, 2012 14:41

Originally Posted by itmitică

But there are no SEO implications.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that there are not yet any SEO implications.

As HTML5 becomes more widespread and (hopefully!) approved as a spec, it is very likely that Google (or whoever is king of the jungle at that time) will incorporate elements of the new semantics into its algorithm.

**markbrown4** · Jun 4, 2012 16:49

Originally Posted by ralph.m

Not officially, because HTML5 is not ready yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McAeQiLmEYU

If you exclude a few semantic tags there's plenty of new usable stuff in html5 that's ready.

**Dark Tranquility** · Jun 6, 2012 02:34

Originally Posted by markbrown4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McAeQiLmEYU

If you exclude a few semantic tags there's plenty of new usable stuff in html5 that's ready.

I think that Ralph meant that HTML5 is not yet the official standard

**oswdindia** · Jun 6, 2012 04:47

Yes its advanced version so it has something new to show you, and if you have two site one is in HTML 4.1 and other one is on HTML 5 than always well optimized site will win. Well Structures Sites will get good result in SE.

**TomB** · Jun 6, 2012 07:33

Search engines do look at tags as part of their algorithm. I wonder if, for example, any of them take <header> tags into consideration?

Using HTML5 is a SEO consideration. For example, if using <header> instead of <h1> has a negative effect on rankings it's probably best not to use the HTML5 header tag even when using other HTML5 tags. Have google or bing made any official announcements regarding HTML5?

**ralph.m** · Jun 6, 2012 07:48

Originally Posted by TomB

if using <header> instead of <h1> ...

You would never do that, as they have different purposes.

**GeraldNitram** · Jun 6, 2012 20:38

If ever it's been officially released, do you think that Google and the other search engines would use some attributes on the new tags as some sort of a new ranking factor? I think that's one of the questions that should be asked here. Well, I also think that it's a bit too early to ask that, but if you guys can share something, that would be awesome, too.

**ralph.m** · Jun 6, 2012 22:13

Remember that, ultimately, the search engines are trying to serve up relevant content, not code.

**Stevie D** · Jun 7, 2012 01:04

Originally Posted by GeraldNitram

If ever it's been officially released, do you think that Google and the other search engines would use some attributes on the new tags as some sort of a new ranking factor? I think that's one of the questions that should be asked here. Well, I also think that it's a bit too early to ask that, but if you guys can share something, that would be awesome, too.

I don't see Google as using the new tags to determine the ranking, but I do see them building it into understanding the relevance – it's all part of the semantic web. If text appears within <header>, <footer> or <aside>, it takes on a slightly different meaning (in relation to the overall purpose of the page) to if it appears in a main <article> or <section>. I doubt it will make a huge difference, but I wouldn't underestimate Google's capacity to use any possible indicator out there when analysing a page.

Of course, that will only come to fruition if webbists actually do start using those tags correctly – Google is pragmatic and will only include factors that have real-world relevance rather than a purely theoretical benefit.

**phillipturner** · Jun 11, 2012 22:48

I feel html5 is good from search engine point of view, it uses tags and those tags are very near to understandable by search engines. Like for content section you use <article>. These tags are really going to be a milestone in terms of optimization. I agree search engines are concerned with content, but every thing that is in source that is crawled by them. If it has been only content then why it has bad experience with flash? why it avoids java scripts? every thing is important!!

**tnsporting90** · Jun 25, 2012 03:05

Note that search engine always searches the relevant data not the code, when the content is exactly same for two websites then Html5 is better because it is build around the SEO. So Html5 gives the PageRank better.
Thanks.