Using HTML5 Tags for SEO
New HTML5 tags have improved the ability of search engine web crawlers to read and understand your web pages for indexing. Previously, a website could have stunning graphics and great content but it was difficult for search engine bots to index all the on-page elements, especially embedded animations. Although HTML5 is still a work in progress, it is already the new standard of HTML and has been implemented in all major browsers. HTML5 now has several new features that improve both the usability and the searchability of sites developed in HTML5.
HTML5 New Feature Overview
- New HTML5 tags for on page content improve SEO. Some of the new HTML5 tags include <article>, <footer>, <header>, <nav> and <section>.
- The <canvas> element is used to quickly draw graphics on a web page through scripting.
- Both <video> and <audio> is used to tag specific media elements for indexing.
- Form controls such as date, email, range, URL and more allow for better input validation.
HTML5 Tags and SEO
One of the biggest benefits of using HTML5 for SEO is the introduction of the new HTML5 tags. New content HTML5 tags allow search engine bots to be able to differentiate different areas of content for better indexing.
The <article> tag is used to enclose an independent piece of content. If you have a website with multiple articles displayed, such as a news site, you would use <article> HTML5 tags to differentiate each separate piece of content.
The <footer> and <header> tag are very similar because both have a similar purpose. Use of these HTML5 tags keep header and footer navigation links separate from other on-page links, preventing page errors resulting from too many on-page links.
The <nav> tag is designed to be used for site navigation. Like the <footer> and <header> HTML5 tags, it keeps the number of on-page links low. The <nav> tag can be used on any type of website navigation links such as links that take users from one blog post to the next.
The <section> tag is used to block off a specific section of content. For blogs that use headers, each piece of content could be specified with <section> HTML5 tags.
The <header> tag is designed to contain a section heading (h1-h6) or even other content such as a search box or even a company logo. Although the <header> tag seems redundant when used with h1-h6 HTML5 tags, it allows for the ability to code other information into a header that is only visible to search engines. It also allows you to use an image or logo as a header and still encode information that allows search engines to be able to index your page with the same information as if there were text headers.
Converting your website to HTML5 can be very beneficial for your SEO efforts and website ranking by helping drive organic search traffic. If you are interested in learning more about upgrading your current website to HTML5, please contact us today.
