Is W3 Validation A Must for SEO Friendliness?
Many seem to believe and quite wrongly that the W3 validation is closely related to websites that are considered SEO friendly. The following article will debate the causes for this misconception and hopes to shatter the illusion regarding the relationship between the W3 standards and the position websites receive in search engine results pages. Furthermore, the question regarding whether the entire W3 validation is merely an exercise in futility will also be brought up in an objective manner. However, in order to understand the concept better, it is worth noting that the W3 standardization refers mainly to the coding method employed by developers and is completely independent from the keyword and tagging methods used by SEO experts to boost the websites position among the first SERPs.
In essence, the passing W3 validation 100 percent is associated with websites that can be viewed equally well on all existing browsers. However, while the validation for HTML websites is considered to be difficult but doable, the same cannot be said regarding the XHTML validation. Moreover, most web developers will tell you that attaining that ideal 100 percent W3 validation cannot be achieved without some negative impact on the overall design of the website. One can only imagine how much of the content has to be removed in order to transform a webpage in such a manner that the elements present on it can be viewed on both the desktop Mozilla and the browsers proprietary to smartphones.
Furthermore, W3 validation also refers to websites that can be surfed by people with different impairments, which immensely increases the difficulty of the coders. One example regarding the lack of relationship between W3 standards and SEO friendliness can be easily found by entering the phrase “web design” in your search engine and browsing through the first results. As one can clearly see, very few of them are W3 validated. This method can easily shake your faith in the fact that the W3 standards have any impact on the SEO.
Moreover, while it is true that meeting the W3 standards at least partially can be associated with websites that run better and present less errors, this aspect is not taken into account by search engine spiders. It may happen that in the case of an extremely bad website the spiders will get tangled in the coding and give it a negative rating in the indexing phase, however this type of cases is fairly rare. A viable alternative to validation for those aiming to make the websites viewable from all browsers is to redirect users to a specialized version of the page.
In conclusion, there is no actual indicator regarding the relationship between the W3 standards and SEO or the actual benefits it can pose for granting your website access to the top SERPs. At the same time, since W3 validation will more often than not require you to remove certain parts of the content, which are supported by unfixable coding, you may actually lose valuable keywords and tags in the process. To sum it up, W3 validation is a waste of time, as there are various other methods of ensuring the coding of the website meets the highest standards in quality and efficiency.
Want to know more about SEO? There are millions of search engine optimization websites out there but for the most reliable tips and tricks, always go with a website that is reputable!
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