Scroll down for a discussion on Website Coding within the Insurance Websites.
Recently I have had a string of "Websites" that are creating problems with Individuals Search Engine Optimization efforts.
The reason for this problem is the ...
Recently I have had a string of "Websites" that are creating problems with Individuals Search Engine Optimization efforts.
The reason for this problem is the "Code" that these websites are built with are creating problems for the Search Engines to properly read and index.
Search engines rely on "clean" code easy W3C tags and error free mark-up to parse.
This might help explain in simple detail:
Most pages on the World Wide Web are written in computer languages (such as HTML) that allow Web authors to structure text, add multimedia content, and specify what appearance, or style, the result should have.
As for every language, these have their own grammar, vocabulary and syntax, and every document written with these computer languages are supposed to follow these rules.
The process of verifying whether a document actually follows the rules for the language(s) it uses is called validation, and the tool used for that is a validator. A document that passes this process with success is called valid.
Validity is one of the quality criteria for a Web page, but there are many others. In other words, a valid Web page is not necessarily a good web page, but an invalid Web page with errors has little chance of being a good web page.
Check your own site and make sure your site is atleast using W3C compliant code. Atleast XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
Be concerned if you see your site is built with HTML 1.0 unless it was built in 1995.
Last edited by dmiller90 : 06-15-2009 at 10:40 AM.
I have a Norvax template website and got this message:
Errors found while checking this document as HTML 4.01 Transitional!
Result: 112 Errors, 8 warning(s)
Damn you Norvax....
The W3C validator is a useful tool, but it isn't the whole story. For every rule, there's a reason to break it. Take a look at what happens when you run Google through the validator.
Errors found while checking this document as HTML 4.01 Transitional!
Result: 52 Errors, 12 warning(s)
Google builds their pages to not be W3C compliant because they can shave a few kilobytes off the file size of each page. Multiply this by all of the pages they serve a day and it ends up being a huge decrease in bandwidth. There are many other reasons why a page might not pass the validator but still be okay.
Of course, if you're breaking the rules, you'd better know what you're doing!
The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium and since 1994 the W3C has provided the guidelines by which websites and web pages should be structured and created. The rules they outline are based on the best practices and websites don't have to comply to be viewed correctly.
For those of you with dogs. W3C can be compared to the AKC (American Kennel Club) Competition. As they set standards for how pure breed dogs should look, act and etc. during competition. With that being said a mixed breed dog is just as good and sometimes can be healthier than a pure breed dog but does not meet the AKC standards.
That's the basic concept of the W3C a validated site is a pure breed dog and a non validated site is a mixed breed so to speak.
Per Matt Cutts (Top Google Engineer that specializes in SEO). As long as you have relevant content your site can rank well. W3C is not as important as some people think. If you search majority of the sites in the top 10 listings on any given subject you'll find most will not validate. It has no effect on SEO.
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The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium and since 1994 the W3C has provided the guidelines by which websites and web pages should be structured and created. The rules they outline are based on the best practices and websites don't have to comply to be viewed correctly.
For those of you with dogs. W3C can be compared to the AKC (American Kennel Club) Competition. As they set standards for how pure breed dogs should look, act and etc. during competition. With that being said a mixed breed dog is just as good and sometimes can be healthier than a pure breed dog but does not meet the AKC standards.
That's the basic concept of the W3C a validated site is a pure breed dog and a non validated site is a mixed breed so to speak.
Per Matt Cutts (Top Google Engineer that specializes in SEO). As long as you have relevant content your site can rank well. W3C is not as important as some people think. If you search majority of the sites in the top 10 listings on any given subject you'll find most will not validate. It has no effect on SEO.
Matt Cutts joined Google as a software engineer in January 2000. Which is currently the head of Google’s Webspam team.
Second the Article that you referenced was wrote on October 27th 2006
The bottom line, When I have a "New House" built and I pay Top Dollar for a "New Modern House" I would expect the Carpenter to be using and following the Proper Industry Standard Codes. I realize an Outhouse works put I prefer a Indoor Bathroom.
The huge point you dont get is the Loading time of the Site, which matters to Google for Ranking and customers, Viewing the site is only one portion.
Jam this on some 3rd Tier Server (FATCOW) and you have nothing but bottleknecks. You get what you pay for. Agents Deserve Better
I can also cut down a tree with a Tree Saw. But I prefer a ChainSaw.
Bottom line if your building websites for Agents, they should get nothing but the Best and should expect nothing less.
But I guess if you have something to defend, and writing code in HTML 1.0, I guess ignoring or discounting this issue is normal.
Last edited by dmiller90 : 06-18-2009 at 09:18 AM.
Ease up partner. I'm not defending anything. Load time has nothing to do with W3C. Google itself is not even W3C Compliant along with many other name brand sites that have top positioning. And having a site that is W3C complaint doesn't mean that you have a site that loads faster.
If you do a search on Matt Cutts you'll find video blogs posted by him in 2009 talking about this very issue.
I say tomato...you say tomatoe. We have the right to varying opinions. This is a discussion board.
Even your mydragonfgures site isn't W3C Complaint Errors found while checking this document as XHTML 1.0 Strict!
Ease up partner. I'm not defending anything. Load time has nothing to do with W3C. Google itself is not even W3C Compliant along with many other name brand sites that have top positioning. And having a site that is W3C complaint doesn't mean that you have a site that loads faster.
If you do a search on Matt Cutts you'll find video blogs posted by him in 2009 talking about this very issue.
I say tomato...you say tomatoe. We have the right to varying opinions. This is a discussion board.
Even your mydragonfgures site isn't W3C Complaint Errors found while checking this document as XHTML 1.0 Strict!
Result:219 Errors, 17 warning(s) Address:
Here let me help you with the Real issues (New Site - New Standard Code) bunched up bulky long HTML 1.0 creates slow loading times compared to sites that use the new standard clean code.
Fast Loading times are a critical point of website ranking, Which by the way is the ultimate Goal. Not just because it looks pretty to the Agent, its the underneath stuff they dont see that can affect them without knowing.
Second Point - Dont use 2-3 Tier Servers. I understand sites will rank without being compliant, I think I know a thing or two on that subject.
That might be due to its wrote in RTML. I thought you were a webmaster?
I dont think you even want to get started on pointing out sites. The people on this forum are fully aware of the issues.
Last edited by dmiller90 : 06-19-2009 at 12:04 PM.
Dave I was thinking of using Joomla to build my site. Now that I am looking at SEO (don't know anything about it).Would it be better to build a site with HTML 4?
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Excalibur Benefits
Larry Roberts
Larry.Roberts(at)Excaliburbenefits. com
Dave I was thinking of using Joomla to build my site. Now that I am looking at SEO (don't know anything about it).Would it be better to build a site with HTML 4?
Joomla is simply a Content Management System (CMS) that you create the website in. The code will be in HTML.
Any website can be optimized as long as you can access the internal coding.
Joomla is simply a Content Management System (CMS) that you create the website in. The code will be in HTML.
Any website can be optimized as long as you can access the internal coding.
First Joomla would be fine, due to its code is modern XHTML coding.
Plain old HTML is outdated and I would not have a website built in this old code. First that style of code went out in the late 1990's. You will see that alot of Self-Taught webmasters use this coding.
I would never pay to have a new site built with old style HTML,(Any version) you wont get what your paying for.
When you buy a New Computer, do you buy 1990's technology?
8 Track or CD? Sony Walkman or MP3 Player? They all still play music!!!
Better yet, How about a Rotary Phone, still makes the call!!!
Be aware that webmasters that use old HTML will tell you it makes no difference.
The problem is they dont understand how much of a difference for proper indexing and spidering, and 99% of Webmasters dont understand true Search Engine Optimization.
Yes it looks the same and displays to your prospects the same, but the Search Engines dont see it the same.
Goes much deeper than (any website can be optimized if you can access the internal coding).
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> Outdated Code
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"> Modern Code
Last edited by dmiller90 : 08-03-2009 at 08:02 AM.
Please be aware of people who try to act as a subject matter expert of everything.
Majority of this is false, incorrect and misleading information. Someone who has never built a website cannot not be a SME on the subject.
And yes, any website can be fully optimized if you can access the internal coding because this means you have complete control over the markup whether as is or altered.
FYI...for those of you who don't know XHTML 1.0 is HTML 4.0 written as an XML application. (Google XML or XHTML if you want more of the boring details.)
MYTH #1: HTML 4.0 is old code. This is FALSE.
HTML has not been deprecated and is not being phased out. In fact, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recently renewed the HTML working group, which is working to develop HTML 5. The developers of Firefox, Opera, and Safari have pushed very hard for the development of HTML 5 and have largely ignored the development of XHTML 2. The Safari development team has even opted to not take part in the XHTML 2 development process. The CTO of Opera said in an interview, “I don't think XHTML is a realistic option for the masses. HTML5 is it.”
MYTH #2: XHTML is better and "new code". This is also FALSE.
In fact, XHTML 1.x is not “future-compatible”. XHTML 2, currently in the drafting stages, is not backwards-compatible with XHTML 1.x. XHTML 2 will have lots of major changes to the way documents are written and structured, and even if you already have your site written in XHTML 1.1, a complete site rewrite will usually be necessary in order to convert it to proper XHTML 2.
HTML 4.01 is actually more future-compatible. A valid HTML 4.01 document written to modern support levels will be valid HTML 5, and HTML 5 is where the majority of attention is from browser developers and the W3C.
XHTML does not have good browser support. In typical setups, most browsers simply pretend that your XHTML pages are regular HTML. Some major browsers like Firefox, Opera, and Safari may attempt to handle the page as proper XHTML if and only if you include a special header telling it to do so. But even when you do, Internet Explorer and a number of other user agents will have problems with it and won't display the page at all. Even when handled as XHTML, the supporting browsers have a number of additional bugs.
Food for thought:
If XHTML is comprised of HTML then wouldn’t XHTML be “old” code?
How many websites with this supposed “old code” rank higher than yours?
Search engines care about relevancy NOT code. But with that being said they need to be able to read your code to find your content to determine what terms or phrases your website should be relevant for.
3 Basics of Clean Code:
JavaScript should be in its own file and called to on the actual web page.
If you are hosting video (this does not include any imbedded YouTube videos), it should be in a separate file and called to on the actual web page. This also applies to flash.
Most formatting should be put in a cascading style sheet (CSS).
All of which makes your webpage smaller.
Bottom Line: Less code on the page = Smaller page size = Faster Download Time = Easier not Better Indexing. That’s it!
The information in this post is NOT opinion. They are facts. You can verify this entire post for validity by Googling its key points.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Directly from Google
Using valid xHTML and CSS can allow more people to view your content. I'm noticing cell phone browsers in my analytics reports more and more as time goes on.
Smart phones are going to get smarter and more and more people will surf the web on their phones as time goes on.
Using valid xHTML and CSS can allow more people to view your content. I'm noticing cell phone browsers in my analytics reports more and more as time goes on.
Smart phones are going to get smarter and more and more people will surf the web on their phones as time goes on.
Bingo!!! thats exactly why you dont want all the bloat, and old tables and tags and all that mess. Plus part of Googles Algorithm scoring system is "Loading Time". This is a Huge factor in Google Adwords, Major part of the Quality Score. Why would the Organic Listings be any different?
How does load time affect my landing page quality? (Straight from Google)
Beginning in April 2008, you'll be able to see a grade for your landing page's load time in your AdWords account. 'Load time' refers to the amount of time it takes for a user to view your landing page after clicking your ad. Several weeks after your load time grade becomes visible, it will begin to impact your landing page Quality therefore, your Quality Score.
Everything with Google now is all about Speed, and transmitting it to small hand held devices. Just watch the commercials and you will see how "America" now views the web on the Iphone!! and how all the commercials are promoting this. I just viewed a commercial from Yellow Pages, with a Young Man searching the Web on his IPhone.
Once again, If you paying for a "New Website" its your choice between a Sony Walkman or a MP3 Player.
The bottom line is, It does matter, and you should be aware of the things to check and look for when purchasing or building a "New" Website. "The Under the Hood Stuff" that gets ignored or brushed off does matter.
You dont have to "know how" to build a car engine or ever "built one yourself" to understand the importance of modern technology and the impact of quality performance. Car and Driver can educate me to become the "Expert" before I head to the Dealership and listen to the "Sales Pitch"
Does the Architect of the Sears Tower, have to know how to pour concrete? or ever have to pour concrete himself? to really understand the importance of the structural limitations of the building?
Look at that coding of this forum!! A+
Last edited by dmiller90 : 08-05-2009 at 08:58 AM.
I can't say that I get a ton of business from people requesting health insurance quotes on their cell phones, but it is the money from the extrasalesthat you get to invest or spend.
You can never be 100% sure why you rank well or poorly for a given keyword. However, I've believed for a long time that using valid xHTML and CSS code has helped my sites in the rankings.
It's just my opinion but having a page coded with valid HTML code even if it is an older version of HTML, is probably better than a page with a lot of errors even if that page is coded with the latest version of xHTML. Of course it is better to have your site coded correctly with a new version.
Here is a code validator for those of you who want to see how well their pages meet the standards.
Website Coding
Linear Mode
