Content to Code Ratio - Through the eyes of SEO

November 13, 2008

Many a time, I’ve been asked how the actual HTML code of a website affects the site’s SEO.

Can code affect rankings?

This in itself is a very large topic but I plan to mention some of the basics here today. I’ll separate this post into separate sections.

<div>s & CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
Thousands of websites across the internet (especially those by beginners in the field) are coded using the old-school HTML tags: <table>, <td>, <tr>, <font> etc. This will result in a lot more code for your site than you need. Using CSS and <div>s in the right way can reduce the amount of code to a minimum. This said, what’s the point? There are a few reasons really…
1. Page Size
  By reducing the size of the page, this will allow your site to load faster and thus enable search spiders to run through and index your code quicker. An equally important advantage is shown by looking at this from a usability point of view. Research shows that users don’t like to wait too long for a site to load and so, by reducing the size of a page to a minimum, users will be able to view your site more quickly, thus reducing the chances of the user leaving.
2. Content to Code Ratio
  The major search engines are becoming smarter by the day. It has been noticed by top SEOs that search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN love a higher content to code ratio. What does this mean? Minimum code. They like to see most code away from the site in external files, leaving the site simple and clean to both users and search spiders.
Website Accessibility
Another advantage of minimising code usage is accessibility. In the past, this was limited to those users who used to use screen readers but now, it’s different.

Technology is advancing exponentially and thus, more and more people are using hand help devices to browse the web. This was mostly limited to those devices which run Windows Mobile but we now have the popular iPhone and the newly released G1 - a phone from Google.

By using CSS, you can make it so that users coming to your site via a hand held device will see your website in a friendlier manner - as will those using a computer or notebook.

Although this point doesn’t have a major affect on SEO at the moment, you can be sure that it will in the future…
Cross Browser Compatibility
Again, not directly related to SEO. If you ask any half-professional web designer and developer where he/she spends most of their time designing a site - I can almost guarantee that it’s in making the site friendly across all browsers.

The simplest way to ensure that your site will be compatible across all major browsers is to code in CSS and <div>s. It has literally become a must now, due to the number of browsers appearing (like the recent Google Chrome)
Code Validation
Using the methods outlined above, you can be sure that you will be left with no or at least minimal validation errors and although validating your code does not have a major impact on SEO, it adds to it. By taking care of the pennies, you can be sure your pounds will stay safe.