How important is clean html in search results?

[Kloans]

So I have seen several people tell others to clean up their html. Really, how important is clean html in search results? I know that the html certainly doesn't need to be perfect or even close to it to get indexed or even get in the top ten in certain categories. However how much is it hurting someones chances at achieving better results?

[bobitza]

I don't think anyone knows for sure if and how much having clean html code is helping the search engine results.

I can tell you for sure that having clean html code helps you with two things:

1. Helps the spiders, so your website will get crawled and indexed more easily.
2. Helps the visitors, because the pages will load faster, so you'll have happier visitors (from the pages downloading time point of view) .

[WDC]

It doesn't matter search engines themselves have lots of HTML errors

[Webnauts]

Originally Posted by WDC

It doesn't matter search engines themselves have lots of HTML errors

That is not an accurate argument buddy, since search engines do not need to search to find themselves.

[inertia]

A customer of mine had dropped 5 places for their main key phrase. The page that had lost the positions was in content manager system and despite us insisting he doesn't copy and paste directly from word - this is exactly what he had done. As a result there was masses of unnecessary coding and none of it was structured with H1, H2 etc.

I removed as much of the coding as possible and structured the content appropriately. Within 2 days his site was back on the top spot. This was the first thing i tried and it seamed to do the trick. Whether it was down to me tidying up the coding or just coincidence i will let you decide...

[Kloans]

Originally Posted by inertia

A customer of mine had dropped 5 places for their main key phrase. The page that had lost the positions was in content manager system and despite us insisting he doesn't copy and paste directly from word - this is exactly what he had done. As a result there was masses of unnecessary coding and none of it was structured with H1, H2 etc.

I removed as much of the coding as possible and structured the content appropriately. Within 2 days his site was back on the top spot. This was the first thing i tried and it seamed to do the trick. Whether it was down to me tidying up the coding or just coincidence i will let you decide...

Interesting...I would just instinctually guess that it had more to do with the H1, H2, bolds stuff like that then the actual errors and bad coding. But I really don't know.

[pcunix]

Well, since we have no accurate idea of how the spiders really work, we can only guess, right?

But consider this: the spider does need to infer something about the structure of a page to determine its contents. If the html is broken, it's certainly possible that it will interpret incorrectly or even miss parts of your page. Not likely, but *possible*.

So why NOT do it right? It's only a small amount of extra effort and it might make a difference.

[ran_dizolph]

So why NOT do it right? It's only a small amount of extra effort and it might make a difference.

Exactly!

[Palindrome]

Originally Posted by Webnauts

That is not an accurate argument buddy, since search engines do not need to search to find themselves.

Wish that was simply pasted to the top of every SEO forum.

The points made about structure are quite important and tend to be a natural part of disciplined coding.

There may be a more specific reason to make the effort. Google states that valid coding is not that vital, yet the pieces of data I've seen that relate to page load, size and crawlability tend to suggest otherwise. As mentioned earlier, good code may allow more of a page to be indexed but may also allow more pages to be indexed, within the same time frame. This can only benefit a site.

[craigmn3]

There is clean and then there is WC3 Clean

Clean, nicely constructed code is important in getting indexed and searching well. Some search engines place different values on "cleanliness" It was reported to be a vital a few years ago but I think with the advent of newer media, dynamic pages, and other coding niceities the search engines have dialed back that importance to allow for more socially and media relevant web pages.

So make the code clean enough for the spiders to navigate...in fact make it as clean as you can (let's tidy up our playground) but if you trip a few WC3 violations don't bee too concerned. Keep the content over keeping the clean code

[bosmolskate]

Cleaning up the coding cannot do you harm, unless you do not understand it, and change something around. It also help in the future if you need to change the layout or anything else clean coding helps. As for the SE clean coding helps the spiders naivigate through your site more easily. How much weight does it have in the algorithm is a mystery that we will not know for a long time

[DrTandem1]

I can cite numerous examples of sites that are at the very top of the SERPs with terrible coding. That being said, valid code has more to do with compatibility issues. In other words, what good is it if you are at the top of the SERPs, but your site doesn't display properly. Search robots don't need to see your layout, people do.

So, design the site with people in mind. Validate the code. It is a separate issue from SEO, however, validating may show you areas where your site will not only improve with regards to compatibility, but also to have more to index. The "alt" attribute for images comes to mind.

[mtuba4u]

Clean code that is laid out with correct syntax is important, in fact every thing is important, just some are more important than others.

The search engines algorythm uses all items in a complicated equation that is rumored to have more thna 1200 variables, which are squared, cubed, squre rooted and processed using very advanced mathematics such as calculus to determine limits of variables which are then inserted into other equations.

If you score badly in any specific field this will drag down your over all results, so you do need to score well every where to be in the top 10.

Having clean code has other advantages such as the ability to make small changes with ease, and applying CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to groups of pages that have similar lay outs and a common theme.

[inertia]

Clean code is another part of "the SEO pie" (sorry to keep goin back to the pie analogy - lol!)

[kgun]

If two sites have identical content, (that is only theory of course) in an ideal world, (also theory) the site with correct markup should be preferred.

Which site would you prefer:

1: 2 + 2 = 4. Incorrect code?

2. 2 + 2 = 5. Correct code.

That does not mean that I advice people not to write correct markup, preferrably xhtml well-formed.

The top of laziness is to do everything correct from the beginning, especially if you make a new site from scratch.

[Webnauts]

I think this is a cool read about this topic: CVS.com Blocks Opera... and Google

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by Kloans

So I have seen several people tell others to clean up their html. Really, how important is clean html in search results? I know that the html certainly doesn't need to be perfect or even close to it to get indexed or even get in the top ten in certain categories. However how much is it hurting someones chances at achieving better results?

SE's do not care about Code, only about Content.

So long as the SE can differentiate between the two, you're fine.

[Webnauts]

Originally Posted by deepsand

SE's do not care about Code, only about Content.

So long as the SE can differentiate between the two, you're fine.

Sure. Our member here and client of mine was editing his pages title tags like this:
<title=Manolya Hotel></title>

Do you want to ask him yourself what happen? PM him. His member name is Manolyahotel.

I don't tell what happen, because most probably many here won't believe me.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by mtuba4u

Clean code that is laid out with correct syntax is important, in fact every thing is important, just some are more important than others.

The search engines algorythm uses all items in a complicated equation that is rumored to have more thna 1200 variables, which are squared, cubed, squre rooted and processed using very advanced mathematics such as calculus to determine limits of variables which are then inserted into other equations.

If you score badly in any specific field this will drag down your over all results, so you do need to score well every where to be in the top 10.

Having clean code has other advantages such as the ability to make s