HTML5 semantics SEO

As most of us have come to notice, the web is a constantly changing and fluid environment. New ideas are constantly altering the way we view websites. But how are these developments changing the way Google and other popular search engines view your website?

Much has been written about whether most developers should start incorporating the use of HTML5 into their client’s websites. Some, like myself, answer with a resounding “yes” while others seem to want to wait for HTML5 to be announced as an official supported web standard by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).

So What is the Answer?

Unfortunately, there is no answer and the benefits of HTML5 varies from project to project. For example, if most of a sites web traffic comes from browsers such as older browsers like Internet Explorer 7/8 then it might not be the best approach to use. However, if the majority of site traffic is a tech savvy audience that uses modern browsers like Chrome, Safari and Firefox you should be embracing these new technologies to not only enhance their browsing experiences but also set a pace for other late adopters to follow.

How Can I Tell What Browsers My Sites Visitors Use?

Google Analytics to the rescue! Thankfully you can get all of the data you need from the Audience > Technology > Browser & OS dataset in Analytics. See a below screenshot of the area I am referencing below:

So How Do I Get Started With HTML5?

Getting started is pretty simple.

If you’re already familiar with using HTML5 then it’s time to understand why the semantic markup that HTML5 offers is so appealing from an SEO standpoint.

Why Should Developers Be Excited About Semantic Markup?

Semantic Markup is best defined as using special HTML tags that describe what kind of content it contains. In very simple terms: it offers you very clean code – something all SEOs and developers love.

To illustrate the advantages that HTML5 offers, consider how

and

elements are used to differentiate separate kinds of text on a page. These

&

tags are critical to on-page SEO. They are on the top of the HTML markup food chain and theoretically should describe the current pages topic.