Stong Tags still useful in 2016
-
Hello,
Are strong tags still beneficial in 2016? A few co-workers feel they look spammy on our site and that they are no longer really used by the search engines. However, we can't find any real significant info for no longer implementing them or saying they're outdated.
Thanks!
-
It's an interesting one and Paul has pretty much covered what most SEO's think about the use of bold for anything more than usability these days.
I actually performed split testing for this for a client a number of months ago (they like everything to be tested) and while the positions stayed static in Google, there was actually an increase in the amount of time that people spent looking at content with those bold words in them. I used HotJar to watch recorded user sessions.
Because of this, they use bold to emphasize key points now - A lot more came out of the testing around it, enough to make me realise just how much people scan pages for snippets of what they want.
-Andy
-
Right - for usability, not rankings.
-
I am still betting money on them when used to highlight internal links - because they attract a lot of clicks.
-
The use of strong tags has never been anything other than a miniscule ranking factor, if at all. There's no point to them for SEO at all - use them as benefits the readability of your copy for your visitors instead, as they were intended.
And yes, if your overuse has made your content look spammy, you're hurting your usability and trustworthiness (and therefore value of your site) FAR more than you might ever gain.
Paul
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How to deal with rel=canonical when using POST parameters
Hi there,
On-Page Optimization | | mjk26
I currently have a number of URLs throughout my site of the form: https://www.concerthotels.com/venue-hotels/o2-academy-islington-hotels/256133#checkin_4-21-2024&checkout_4-22-2024&rooms_1&guests_2&artistid_15878:256133 This sends the user through to a page showing hotels near the O2 Academy Islington. Once the page loads, my code looks at the parameters specified in the # part of the URL, and uses them to fill in a form, before submitting the form as a POST. This basically reloads the page, but checks the availability of the hotels first, and therefore returns slightly different content to the "canonical" version of this page (which simply lists the hotels before any availability checks done). Until now, I've marked the page that has had availability checks as noindex,follow. But because the form was submitted with POST parameters, the URL looks exactly like the canonical one. So the two URLs are identical, but due to POST parameters, the content is slightly different. Does that make sense? My question is, should both versions of this page be marked as index,follow? Thanks
Mike0 -
How can i fix the canonical tag issue?
I was experiencing today morning some issue on our website page. While I inspected the URL to Google for the page https://www.socprollect-mea.com/dubai-free-zone-company-formation/ I noted the issue. The canonical tag is showing errors only the source code showsThis is a serious issue right?Does anyone have the idea to solve this concern? Please help me to sort it out the issue and guide me on how to fix this WordPress issue.
On-Page Optimization | | nazfazy0 -
Should I Use A Code For Last Updated Blog Posts
Hi, I have a quick question about updating blog posts. When I add "Last Updated" to an updated post should this be in any particular type of code or simply just text, perhaps with the tag? Thanks An Advance
On-Page Optimization | | KNpaul0 -
Is there any tool available to check which website using Lazy Load?
Hello Experts, Is there any tool available to check which website using Lazy Load? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | wright3350 -
Canonical URL Category and Tags
Hello, I would like to know that I want to use both category and tags in my blog StylishMahi. If I index both category and tags, should I use canonical URL tag to pass referring to main category. As I want more my categories in SERP results ranking higher? I have also attached a picture. Can someone please confirm? Photo by Moz ZigdWMx
On-Page Optimization | | PratapSingh0 -
Should you use Plural version of a keyword or singular
H If kw research shows that singular version of a keyword has higher search volume than plural version should you still use plural version in main on-page areas to try and catch both instances or focus on the singular ? cheers dan
On-Page Optimization | | Dan-Lawrence0 -
Can i use H2 tag for a brand logo
I want to use the brand logo of my products as a H2 tag and use ALT attribute for the image. Please refer for example to: http://www.parfumerie.nl/zoek-op-merk/clarins/clarinsmen/anti-huidveroudering/clarins-men-gel-revitalisant-50-ml/ CODE Clarins Online Is this ok for my SEO or do you advice me to no use the H2 tag for this?
On-Page Optimization | | parfumerienl0 -
Opinions on Alt tags
Reading around the web, there are many sources that suggest all images should have an Alt tag attributed to them. This is good for accessibility etc, however there appears to be conflicting interests between this and what works for SEO. Hence many other sources suggest that you include a keyphrase or two in 1 image Alt tag, and then leave the rest blank so as not to dilute the alts on the page. In my experience, the latter appears to be true. However this seems wrong when the Alt attribute really should be used for accessibility reasons and not for SEO - why would the search engines encourage us to provide poorer quality information by harming our rankings if we try to make a website accessible? Interested to hear your opinions and experiences on this subject. Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | RiceMedia0