13/08/2015
HTML 5 and SEO
HTML 5 is still in the making but for any SEO expert, who tries to look ahead, some knowledge about HTML 5 and how it will impact SEO is not unnecessary information. It is true that the changes and the new concepts in HTML 5 will impact Web developers and designers much more than SEO experts but still it is far from the truth to say that HTML 5 will not mean changes in the Organic SEO policy.
How the Changes in HTML 5 Will Affect SEO?
As a SEO expert, you are most likely interested mainly in those changes in the HTML 5 specification, which will affect your work. Here are some of them:
Improved page segmentation : Search engines are getting smarter and there are many reasons to believe that even now they are applying page segmentation.
A new tag : The tag allows to mark separate entries in an online publication, such as a blog or a magazine.
A new tag : The new tag can be used to identify separate sections on a page, chapter, book. The advantage is that each section can have its separate HTML heading.
A new tag : The new tag (which is different from the head element) is a blessing for SEO experts because it gives a lot of flexibility.
A new tag : The tag might not be as useful as the one but still it allows to include important information there and it can be used for SEO purposes as well.
A new tag : Navigation is one of the important factors for SEO and everything that eases navigation is welcome. The new tag can be used to identify a collection of links to other pages.
For now HTML 5 is still far in the future. When more pages become HTML 5–compliant, search engines will pay more attention to HTML 5. Only then it will be possible to know how exactly search engines will treat HTML 5 pages. The mass adoption of HTML 5 won't happen soon and it is a safe bet to say that for now you can keep to HTML 4 and have no concerns. Additionally, it will take some time for browsers to adjust to HTML 5, which further delays the moment when HTML 5 will be everywhere.