The question of whether we should use <STRONG> tags vs <B> tags in one of our larger sites came up recently while we were implementing some changes, based on the recommendations of one of the SEO companies who are consulting with us (at my job).
One company recommended that we use <STRONG>, and not <B>, probably because it is what the WC3 recommends, however, we’ve been using the old bold <B> tag forever.
Being a little bit lazy (I really didn’t feel like making a mass change across a site of over 16,000 pages to change B to STRONG), and also a bit curious, because I could have sworn that I heard Matt Cutts say that it didn’t really matter which you use, I decided to do a little looking around.
It turns out that according to Matt and the actual Google engineers who weight the particular algorithm elements, <STRONG> and <B> are exactly the same when it comes to ranking and optimizing pages.
The exact same goes for EM vs ITALICS tags (<EM> and <I>), no difference at all.
I’d like to personally congratulate Google for “Keeping it Real”.
Also, if you’d like to hear it from the horses mouth, here you go…
Looks like toolbar pagerank is on the move. I’ve checked several entries in the dnscoop history, and things started changing last night.
Anyone seeing changes?
Disclaimer: This post has absolutely nothing to do with Search marketing or search engine optimization.
I haven’t had much time for blogging lately. My great uncle (93) has recently become unable to walk and care for himself, so I’ve been coming over to his house every day to work. Since I work from home anyway, it’s not a big deal for me to just come over here (about 10 minutes from my house), but it involves a lot of extra work (dressing, cleaning, helping out around the house, etc…).
Since my great uncle is pretty much the greatest man I’ve ever known, I’m putting him first before work, and hopefully I’ll be able to get back into a semi-regular blogging schedule soon.
Maybe it’s time to get some user contributions?
If you’re looking for pictures of the google maps car, they have moved here.
I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately to share what I’ve learned at the various search marketing conferences that I have attended. I though it would be a lot easier if I could just answer specific questions.
Now, I’m not claiming to be an “Expert SEO”, but I do know a thing or two about search engine optimization. Plus, if I can’t answer a question, it’ll be an excellent opportunity for someone else to showcase their expert SEO skills by answering in the comments.
Also, you can feel free to disagree with me as well. (Don’t worry, you won’t hurt my feelings)
So if anyone has a question about SEO or search marketing in general, check out the details on the SEO Q&A Page.
Selected questions will be answered on right here in this brand new SEO questions answered section of the site.
I look forward to your questions. — Again, for details on submitting SEO questions, see the official SEO Q&A Page.
