The Importance of HTML Structure for SEO
In a recent podcast episode of Search Off the Record, Google’s Gary Ilyes sparked controversy when he commented on the importance of HTML structure for SEO. While he stated that it doesn’t matter much, he later clarified that it does have some significance. This statement ignited a debate among SEO professionals.
So, does HTML structure really matter for SEO? The answer is, it depends. When Ilyes mentioned HTML structure, he was likely referring to certain elements that SEO professionals tend to obsess over, such as the number of H1 tags on a page, the order of H tags, and whether something is marked as a `` or `` tag. These elements may have mattered in the past, but things have changed.
Before diving into when HTML structure does and doesn’t matter for SEO, we need to consider some caveats. First and foremost, HTML structure still matters for accessibility. While accessibility is not a direct ranking factor, it can indirectly affect your SEO rankings. If your site isn’t accessible, it is less likely that people will link to it or click on it in the future.
The recently updated Google SEO Starter Guide even mentions the importance of heading tags and accessibility versus SEO. It states that having headings in semantic order is great for screen readers, but from a Google Search perspective, it doesn’t matter if they are used out of order. Google Search can rarely depend on the semantic meanings hidden in the HTML specification. There is also no ideal amount of headings a page should have, but if you think it’s too much, then it probably is.
However, when it comes to the rest of HTML structure, the main issue lies in our mental model of how search engines work. Many people still believe that search engines operate based on lexical search, where they find the document with the most mentions of a term. In reality, search has moved towards a semantic approach.
In semantic search, content is converted to vectors, and algorithms like BERT and RankBrain are used to interpret the meaning of the query and the content. In this process, most of the HTML is lost. Search engines can now use algorithms to determine the main heading of a page, even if it’s not in the `
` tag. Factors such as font size, placement relevant to the content, and the actual sentence itself play a role in identifying the heading.
That being said, it’s still important to use proper H tags and nested elements for accessibility purposes. While search engines can identify headings without relying solely on markup, using proper tags will make your content cleaner, more accessible, and overall better.
One common misconception is the use of multiple H1 tags. With the introduction of HTML5, it is completely normal to have multiple H1 tags on a page. This won’t affect your SEO efforts unless you’re keyword stuffing and marking up everything as an H1.
So, where does HTML structure actually matter for SEO? One example is the placement of your canonical tag. Putting it in the “ instead of the “ won’t be seen by search engines. Similarly, if you place a `
Other HTML coding techniques can also harm SEO. For instance, using a `` with an onclick event instead of an `` tag with an href attribute won’t be counted as a link by search engines. When it comes to images, search engines require an `` tag with a src attribute. Lazy loading plugins that omit the src attribute in favor of srcset may not be treated as an image by Google for image ranking.
In conclusion, while HTML structure does have some importance for SEO, it’s not as critical as many believe. Search engines have evolved to rely on semantic search, where they interpret the meaning of content, rather than just looking at the words it contains. Proper HTML structure is still important for accessibility and to prevent technical issues that could affect SEO. So, mark up your content in a way that’s accessible and makes sense for users, and don’t stress too much about forcing in unnecessary `
