SEO Tycoon

**mgarde** · 09-22-2006, 11:14 PM

Has anyone noticed if Google or anyone else shows favoritism in their SERP's when a site has been done using a strict CSS vs an old school table & <br> system.

Obviously I get that Google should better understand a CSS site and with the use of abbreviations etc. one can convey extra information to Google. But does Google reward sites for such?

**ADAM Web Design** · 09-22-2006, 11:53 PM

Maybe.

* points downward at the SEFL link in his sig *

**stOx** · 09-23-2006, 10:37 AM

I can't see google prefering strict CSS sites.
Google is about delivering information so i don't think they would rather send someone to a site coded in strict CSS than to a site using tables and breaks but which has fantastic information.

As far as i understand google strip out the code when looking at the content.
The only times thwy may look at code is to decide if the webmaster is using blackhat tactics such as hidden text or a sneaky redirect, But i can't see them using it in thier SERPS algo.

**vangogh** · 09-23-2006, 12:12 PM

I'm with Matt on this in that I don't think search engines favor css at the moment. I say at the moment, becuase I think it's possible in time they will. I understand it the same way in that search engine strip out your code before looking at the content. You'll also find a lot of very poorly coded web pages without css at the top of the rrsults.

Adam I have heard your arguments about how css can help. I'm just not convinved yet. I need to see a little more proof.

I do think when search engines strip that code your document will look different from what you might imagine at first and words you thought would be next to each other or at the top or bottom of a document will be in different places than you would think from looking at the page visually. They should end up exactly as they would be in the source after you remove the surrounding code.

I also think the way the text is ultimately arranged without the code will play a part in where a page ranks. And in that sense css can play a part in ranking as you can structure your content one way in the source and have it appear in a diiferent structure visually on the page itself.

Adam, If I'm not mistaken that's where you think css plays a part. Having certain content appear where you want in the source for search engines, but where you want for people on the page itself. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I agree with you, but I'm not sure the impact would be anything major. I think you've seen it work and I simply haven't seen the proof for myself yet.

But for the moment at least I don't think you'll see any major benefit with using css when it comes to search engines. I can see in time where they might give a little boost to pages driven by css and standards compliant and valid code. I don't think that time is quite now though.

**ADAM Web Design** · 09-23-2006, 12:36 PM

Steve, that's basically the crux of it. It's that the information delivery, and the order in which it's presented, is the factor. Is it a major factor? Probably not. But the thing is that search engine ranking has become so hypercompetitive that it's going to be the little things that boost people up from say page 3 to 1, not the big ones.

**vangogh** · 09-24-2006, 02:04 PM

That's true. I'm all for making the little things work for me. I'm not sure I've seen the direct results of this yet, but it does make sense to me that it would work. I think I just need to do a little more experimenting.

I did find an article for you about the limits of search engine spiders and what they'll index. The limits are pretty high so most pages should get completely indexed, but it's still an interesting read.

**chrishirst** · 09-24-2006, 04:57 PM

http://www.highrankings.com/forum/in...howtopic=15075

fairly long thread (100 replies)

**vangogh** · 09-25-2006, 05:03 PM

Chris I've seen that post before and it makes a good read though it always tends to get me a little angry. I agree that there aren't major seo benefits to using css. But so many of the people in the thread seem to think there are no benefits to css layouts at all. For many of them it comes across more as laziness on their part for not learning css than because css itself isn't a better option.

It is a good read though and while many of the posts in the thread raise my ire a bit I generally have respect for most of those making the posts, having read more than the one thread over at HR.