July 30, 2024
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the basic language of every web page on the internet. It is functional and ensures that text is visible and contact forms are loaded. Without HTML, the internet as we know it today would not exist, but what exactly does HTML involve? HTML consists of tags, and there are very many of them. Each tag has a different function. In this article, we will delve deeper into what HTML is, which tags are applicable to SEO professionals, and provide a concrete step-by-step plan for novice web builders to get started with HTML.
How is an HTML structured?
An HTML file consists of various elements that together define the structure and content of the page. The element that appears first looks like this: '<html>'. Every HTML document starts with <html>. The entire document contains two sections, namely the '<head>' and '<body>'.
Head section
The head section contains metadata such as the page title, links to external sources, and scripts. Information within the head section is primarily intended for search engine crawlers and not for people. The information contained here is not displayed on the page.
Body section
The body section includes the actual content of the page, such as text, images, and other multimedia elements. Within the body section, HTML tags are used to structure the content, such as '<p> (paragraph)' for paragraphs, '<img> (image)' for images, '<a> (anchor)' for internal links. To clarify the hierarchy of the heading structure, '<h1>' to '<h6>' heading tags are used, where '<h1>' is considered the most important and '<h6>' the least important. These elements together form the building blocks of an HTML file.
HTML for SEO professionals
Someone who specializes in search engine optimization does not need to write code. However, an SEO professional must be skilled and competent in reading and understanding tags and attributes within HTML. This is mainly for practicing technical SEO.
Checklist for the use of tags for SEO
An SEO professional does not need to write code. However, an SEO professional must be skilled and competent in reading and understanding tags and attributes within HTML. That's why we've developed a checklist. You will find this checklist below!
| Concept | Tag & Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Page Indexing | <meta name='robots' content='index, follow'/> | This tag indicates whether a page should be included in the search engine index. Using noindex, nofollow tells crawlers not to show the page in search results. |
| Meta Title & Page Title | <meta content="title with keyword"/> | Including a keyword in the page title improves search ranking. A short, compelling title also increases click-through rates. |
| Viewport (Mobile Version) | <meta name="viewport"> | This tag defines how a page should be displayed on mobile devices. It's essential for mobile optimization. |
| Main Heading (H1) | <h1>keyword</h1> | Google’s algorithm looks at the H1 tag when assigning search positions. Including the keyword here can positively influence ranking. |
| Subheadings | <h2>SEO</h2><br><h3>What is SEO?</h3><br><h3>Outsourcing SEO</h3> | Subheadings define the hierarchy of the content. Naturally inserting keywords into them can improve your SEO performance. |
| Image Alt Text | <img alt="description"> | Alt text provides a brief description of the image. It helps link the image content to the text and improves accessibility and SEO. |
| Image Dimensions | <img width="..." height="..."> | The width and height attributes define the image size for the crawler, helping improve page load speed. |
| Canonical Tag | <link rel="canonical" href="https://seeders.com/"/> | Specifies the preferred URL as the original version of a page to avoid duplicate content issues. |
| Anchor Text | <a href="/outsource-link-building/">outsourcing your link building activities</a> | Anchor text is clickable and leads to another page or image. Including relevant keywords helps with internal linking and SEO. |
| Hreflang Attribute | <link rel="alternate" hreflang="nl-nl" href="https://seeders.com/nl/"/> | Used for multilingual websites. It tells Google which content is for which language and country, ensuring users see the correct version. |
| Navigation | <nav> | This tag defines the site’s navigation section, helping crawlers understand the website structure. Should be present on every page. |
| Footer | <footer> | The footer tag helps crawlers find and index new pages. It should be included on every web page for better crawlability. |
Identifying tags in the HTML
Now that you know which HTML tags are important for SEO, you naturally want to know how to find these tags in the source code (HTML). You can easily do this by going to a web page on the internet and typing the following shortcuts:
Google Chrome
(CTRL + U)
Safari
(Option + Command + U)
HTML for novice web builders
Actually writing the code is another matter. We have written a small step-by-step plan to help novice web builders get started and to learn basic HTML knowledge. Within this step-by-step plan, we refer to relevant sources to learn HTML knowledge in practice.
Tips when you start working with HTML
Always close your tags
Ensure that you close all opened tags correctly. You do this with the trailing slash and looks like this for the body tag: (</body>). Unclosed tags cause errors and the incorrect functioning of tags and attributes of the page.Create a practice project
Create a practice project such as a personal blog or small (fictitious) company website. This gives you practical experience and insight into how HTML works in a real environment. If you want to gain more knowledge of HTML as an SEO professional, this is certainly a good move. In addition, as a starting SEO professional, you could also apply keyword research or SEO copywriting for the target group of the website.Ask questions on forums
Within the web development profession, there are countless forums where your question has probably already been asked. Popular forums in the field of web development are:
- Stack Overflow
- GitHub
Is HTML still relevant in the future?
HTML remains a fundamental part of the web and it can be concluded that this will remain the case for the future. Although newer technologies such as Javascript and content management systems (CMS) are becoming increasingly functional, HTML remains the basis for structuring web pages. This standardized display is essential for a consistent user experience across different devices and browsers.
SEO Specialist
Tiemen de Jonge is a seasoned SEO Specialist at Seeders Zwolle. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for optimizing online presence, Tiemen helps clients improve their search engine rankings and drive organic traffic to their websites. With years of experience in the digital marketing industry, Tiemen is dedicated to staying up-to-date on the latest SEO trends and techniques to deliver top-notch results for Seeders' clients.
