Google is the most widely used search engine in the world. However, when this behemoth was in its infancy, it did not have the capacity to read CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) files. However, in a few years, Google improved on what it was lacking and is now significantly better with CSS. This has made CSS very important for SEO specific tasks in the current IT climate. Mastering CSS essentials can be quite useful as it has two key features that affect SEO:
- - Use of CSS makes pages lighter and helps them load faster
- - Helps in better organization of pages and makes it easier to write semantically rich content
Limitation of Search Engines
Search engines use “top down” logic in looking at web pages. They look at the actual code, and not what is displayed on the page for the users. When a search engine works and analyzes the content, it determines the gist of a web page by looking at what content is at the top of the page. In a standard HTML code for a webpage, the real and most important stuff is generally not at the top and comes a lot later. This is a major limitation of search engines which needs to be addressed with the use of CSS for better SEO.
Effect of Implementation of CSS in SEO
When external CSS files are used for designing and determining the design attributes, the HTML code generated is cleaner and results in better search engine rankings. With an even basic understanding of CSS, you can change the code layout without changing the actual visual layout. Through CSS, you can tell the search engines how important your content is, by showing it above the navigation bar in the code of your website.
Note: We have the essential guide to CSS and html web design pdf in the works. It comes with many tips and techniques that can help you in making the most out of CSS for SEO purposes, so keep an eye out for when it is released.
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Advantages of CSS for SEO
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are famous for building standards-compliant, easily modifiable and fast-loading web pages. Apart from its well-known capabilities, CSS offers some compelling SEO benefits. The following is a list of major advantages offered by CSS:
- 1. By using CSS, one can utilize common HTML tags like <ul> and <a> to construct menus that contain internal links. This allows search engines to discover the links easily and helps in ensuring efficient and deeper crawling of site.
- 2. By making webpages light, CSS reduces the code-to-content ratio. This can make your site easier to read not just for the user but for the bots as well, which leads to better indexing.
- 3. With the use of CSS, you can separate content and presentation. This allows you to experiment with different copy and presentation, and test what converts best.
- 4. CSS cuts down on the time spent on maintaining web sites and frees up webmaster resources. It helps you to implement fresher content, and devise new SEO strategies.
Should Designers and Developers Concern Themselves With SEO?
While it is good to specialize in a certain area when it comes to digital marketing, one needs to have working knowledge of other domains as well. For example, web designer and developers need to have knowledge about how their actions impact the search engine optimization of a website. Now that you know how CSS impacts the SEO of a website, you can use that knowledge to your advantage when working on a website. If you want to improve your CSS skills, you can always do a course on CSS essentials.
How to Start your Career as a CSS developer
For a career as a CSS developer, it is best if you get a bachelor or master’s degree in computer science. The degree is not a must, however, it can go a long way in developing your fundamentals and basic knowledge. Some experience in computer related fields can be quite useful for an aspiring candidate. Last but not the least, you should get a certification that helps you master CSS and build better websites. Learning about CSS essentials and other advanced topics from an institute like QuickStart can be a good start for your career. QuickStart boasts of nearly three decades of training experience in the IT domain and has some of the best trainers.
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