Google, HTML5 and SEO

To use HTML5, or not use HTML5, that is the question...especially when you’re considering Google and SEO.

There are lots of people on both sides of the debate:

PROS & CONS

PROS: Moves the semantic web one step closer, which should help my search rankings (in the long run), and some of the new tags, like <video> and <canvas>, can leave users and clients awestruck, to say the least.

CONS: Not a standard, yet... so I risk having my search rankings and user experience ending up in the crapper.

THE RISKS

In reality, the risks of using HTML5 boil down to three separate issues:

1. Google will not rank my site properly, because it can’t find my content.
2. Internet Explorer users with <IE9 will ditch my site, because it won’t look right, or worse, won’t show up at all.
3. Mobile users with older devices will have a really bad experience when they visit my site.

We’re going to look at all three issues, and how to mitigate them. More...

Sciosoft Systems is a Canadian web design & development company based in Muskoka, which is in central Ontario. We provide ASP.NET website & Windows Server application development services to small and medium-sized business, as well as local government and not-for-profit groups. If you have a website project you’d like to discuss, please visit us at www.sciosoft.com.