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SEO Benefits Of CSS
This article is most useful if you are somewhat familiar with HTML and CSS. I explain the concepts well enough that you do not have to be an expert, but I want to provide material that will introduce you to more advanced design in ways you can understand.
Like many other web designers, I began laying out web pages using graphical
tools and discovered the wonders of tables for layout without anyone telling
me to use them. Since browser support for CSS Is better than it used to be,
and tables cause problems, CSS offers you a benefit you may not have thought
about before, the benefit of better SEO.
I want to say right away that quality content should be your highest priority,
not SEO tricks. The advice given here will help you get better search engine
results because the key to real SEO begins with good page structure and organizing
your content . By understanding how search engines "see" your pages,
you can build better page structure.
Search engines use what is called "top down" logic in looking
at web pages. They look at your code, not the visual display that users see.
Human eyes are drawn to the page content right away, even when there are other
things on the page. Search engine robots do not see things the same way, but,
they are logical and predictable once you understand them.
You have most likely seen search engine results that do not make sense because
some obscure content gets displayed instead of the actual content of the page.
I will illustrate top down logic so you can understand how to make CSS work
for you.
In the mind of a search engine, the gist of your web page is determined first
by what content is at the top of the page. If you start with certain words,
they appear often throughout the page, and then again at the bottom so it
is essentially your closing point, that, in the automated brains of a search
engine is what your page is about.
Your well trained eyeballs will probably look for a title, then read the
content; so to you, this is the top down logic of the page. Read your HTML
code from the top down. You may be surprised how far you have to scroll before
you get to the real content, and, how much other "content" a search
engine will see first. If you use tables for layout, the top down logic of
your code looks like it has the legs cut off and the place settings are on
the floor.
Using CSS, you can organize your code so the search engines see your real
content first regardless of where it appears on the page.
Let's use a simple HTML example:
<html>
<head>
Insert all your head info, including a CSS link like below
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="file.css"
/>
</head>
<body>
<div id="content"> <!--I will explain this div later-->
<h1>Heading With Your Important Keywords</h1>
<h2>Subheading With Important Keywords</h2>
<p>Your important content will be here, with keywords. Notice how this
is right at the top of your code. No matter where this is on the page, you
want it here at the top of your code.</p>
</div> <!--This would be the end content div-->
<div id="nav"> <!--This div represents a navigation example-->
<p>This could have image buttons, text, or both. If using images, make
sure to include alt text which should contain keywords. With tables for layout,
this would most likely be above the content, now it is below where it should
be. The div id above will help you control this.</p>
</div>
<div id="banner">
<p>As the name can imply, this can be at the top of the page, but notice
how it is way down in your code because it has no strong SEO elements. It
might be your logo or additional navigation. Even though it shows at the top
of the page to the user, it is not the first thing you want the search engine
to read or display in search results.</p>
</div>
<div id="summary">
<!--This div can be anything, used here as example-->
<p>This example of another div is used to illustrate another SEO principle.
Use keywords in it so it is like your closing point. By appearing at the bottom
of the code, it makes stronger SEO.</p>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Next, I will show a simple example of how to make the file.css to control
the layout. You can use this code in a text editor to see the effects. For
simplicity, I will focus on only the layout code, we will not be declaring
fonts, sizes, links, etc.
In the HTML example, we have 4 sections (divs). You can divide up by pixels
or percentages (or even both). We will be using pixels for simple illustration
of the principle here.
/*Begin CSS*/
/*Just for the record, this is a comment in CSS*/
#nav {position: absolute;
top: 0px;
left: 0px;
width: 200px;
height: 500px;
padding: 20px 10px 10px 20px;
}
/*To explain the code above, I listed the divs in a different order than
the HTML. This order follows the flow of the way I am doing the page layout.
It also follows the flow you would have if you set up a table structure in
HTML. The nav section butts up against the top left corner of the page (top
and left are both 0px). The # sign defines the "id" of the div followed
by the name. I set the width to 200px which is like making a table cell that
width. I have used the 500px height just as an example so the summary below
will start where the nav ends. You want to be sure everything will fit with
the sizes you specify. You can also set padding, but unlike a table cell in
HTML, you can set each side separately. In the example above, the first 20px
is the top, then it declares each side in clockwise order so the left side
is also 20px.*/
#summary {position: absolute;
top: 500px;
left: 0px;
width: 200px;
padding: 20px 10px 10px 20px;
}
/*The summary above starts where the nav ends, at 500px from the top.
The other settings match for alignment. I did not set a height because it
will stretch just like a table cell when you insert your content.*/
#banner {position: absolute;
top: 0px;
left: 200px;
width: 550px;
height: 150px;
padding: 20px 0px 10px 20px;
}
/*The banner will be at the top of the page, but will start at 200px from
left where the nav ends. Declaring a height is optional, but it will help
for making sense out of where the content below will start. I used 150px just
as an example. The reason for 0px padding on the right side is because the
remainder of the screen is empty in this layout, no need to pad that side.
I limit the width so it will display well down to 800x600 res (the total width
here is 750px).*/
#content {position: absolute;
top: 150px;
left: 200px;
width: 550px;
padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px;
}
/*Now the content starts right where the banner leaves off, 200px to the
left and 150px from the top. Notice this is last. If you used tables to create
the same layout, this would be last in your code too. The search engines would
read everything else before getting to the meat of your page. In the HTML
used here, it is at the top of your code so the search engines see it first.*/
/*End CSS*/
These are simple examples, but if you can think in terms of top down logic,
you can build search engine friendly pages. They will also load faster as
complex table structures take longer to load than CSS layout, which is another
benefit to CSS.
About the Author
Steve Chittenden seeks to help business owners and organizations market themselves effectively and succeed. His company, Creative Business Services, provides carefully planned web design, graphic design, writing, and marketing services aimed at achieving this goal. Please visit www.cbscreative.com for more information.