21 replies to this topic

[qwerty]

I agree that CSS menus are better for search engines, but I don't think that the old problem of menus coming up as a snippet is much of an issue anymore. Particularly in the case of Google, the meta description (or even the ODP description) are being used as a standard snippet. I have a site that's still in tables with images for its main navigation, and it's been well over a year since the navigation's alt attributes came up on any search.

[GBRD]

The only time that tables should be an issue would be in a case where single blocks of text are broken up across multiple cells and the cells are arranged in a such a way that when linearized, the logical progression of text is disturbed. For example using table cells to create certain tricky text positioning effects.

If you can read the text in a logical linear fashion in the source code, then so can a web robot. The text position within the source code would not affect interpretation in any meaningful way either.

The value of CSS is that it allows (X)HTML to be used in the manner that was intended.

[maleman]

I wrote two programs in C++ for encrypting and decrypting text. Used for securing email so that if somebody got their hands on it, they wouldn't be able to read it (unless they spent a couple months figuring out the coding system).

To write a program that sifts through HTML and extracts the text would be no more complicated than an encryption program (probably less complicated).

Search engine companies have top-shelf programmers. They have no problem sifting through your page and extracting the text no matter what style of page design you use.

The issue of extracting content from an HTML page was cleared many moons ago.

The only problem I see is if the HTML was really screwed up and stumped the program scanning it. It's best to keep your code clean and valid.

[Nueromancer]

This is one that always bothers me. It seems to reflect a tendency to anthropomorphize SE spiders. Spiders don't need code that's "easy." They don't fatigue; they don't have likes & dislikes,they don't form opinions about webmasters and coders. They're binary: 

Up to a point ;-)

Don't forget that a human wrote the spider and code that the spider runs and if the html is screwed up to the point where the spider gives up - that is the spider analog of "giving up" an a coder will have opinions about code and will put those assumptions into the spider.

Personally id quite like a cuddly (plush) toy google bot - a bit like back in the day you could get a cuddly toy mozzilla from netscape.

Rgds M

ps any ideas wht the Google bot looks like ime thinking octopussy or in my darkr moments Cthulu

[qwerty]

OFFTOPIC:

An octopus (or a fictional character named after one for a bit of a cutesy sexual double entendre, for that matter) doesn't have nearly enough tentacles to represent googlebot. No, I'm sure the bot looks just like the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

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[torka]

OFFTOPIC:

Maybe the Googlebot is an earthly manifestation of the FSM. It would certainly explain a few things...

--Torka

[lyn]

Yup, that's it.
I just happened to be checking my server when it came by. Pretty icky, but we all knew that!