Every year, almost 2.7 billion blog entries are written online annually, but almost 96% of them receive no traffic from Google’s organic search results.

Inadequate application of technical SEO during website page design and development has frequently resulted in a significant decline in organic search traffic.

One important element in technical SEO is the use of semantic components in your website’s HTML structure. In this section, we’ll talk about the value of employing semantic HTML tags and provide a list of essential elements that you should never skip when creating a website.

Low rankings in Google search results may be the result of inadequate technical SEO knowledge and incorrect semantic HTML elements.

Why CMS Plugins Alone Are Not Enough for Optimal SEO

Wix, WordPress, and SquareSpace are just a few of the CMS (Content Management System) platforms that offer both free and premium SEO plugins. Advanced functions like XML sitemap creation, meta tag management, and keyword optimization are available in these commercial plugins, and they can greatly improve the SEO of your website.

It is advised to install one of the following premium SEO plugins to help increase visibility and rankings:

Benefits of Using SEO Plugins

  1. Keyword Usage: SEO plugins help to choose and use keywords to improve search engine rankings.
  2. On-page Optimization: Many SEO plugins for WordPress, such as Yoast SEO, offer a variety of on-page optimization features, such as the ability to add meta tags, create and verify sitemaps, and optimize title tags and meta descriptions.
  3. Google Search Console Integration: Some SEO plugins, can integrate with Google Search Console, allowing website owners to view important data such as clicks, impressions, and errors.
  4. Link management: Some SEO plugins, such as Broken Link Checker, can check for broken links and notify website owners when they need to be fixed.

Downsides of Using Plugins For CMS

  1. Sluggish loading time: CMS plugins often include extensive JavaScript, CSS, and occasionally even server-side code, which can cause extra load and significantly reduce the loading speed of your website. The user experience (UX) and even your search engine rankings may suffer as a result, since page speed is a direct ranking factor for SEO.

  2. CMS Security Vulnerabilities:  SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF attacks are among the frequent web application vulnerabilities associated with CMS plugins. Bots, brute force assaults, backdoor incursions, and other security vulnerabilities are common with WordPress websites and can negatively affect many facets of your website.


    Vulnerability Source      Number ReportedPercentage of Total (1,779)
    WordPress Core      23      1.29%
    WordPress Theme  97        5.45%
    WordPress Plugin  1,659        93.25%
    WordPress Vulnerabilities By WPScan

  3. Complex Customization: Plugins such as Yoast SEO are feature-rich plugins with many options, which can make it overwhelming for beginners who are new to SEO. The plugin is difficult to navigate and often leads to confusion.

  4. Cost Considerations: Most SEO plugins offer a free license for limited basic SEO support. However, advanced SEO features are available only with the premium plan. Advanced SEO feature such as:

    • Keyword Rank Tracker
    • Automatic Schema Implementation
    • Long-Tail Keyword Optimization
    • Breadcrumbs widget
    • Google Analytics 4 Integration
    • Custom Schema using JSON+LD/HTML

It is always wise to avoid spending money on SEO plugins. Instead, focus on writing well optimized SEO code yourself during the web development phase, so that you build your site on a solid SEO foundation from the ground up.
Or you could hire a web agency with an SEO specialist to handle this for you.

What is HTML5 semantics and why is it important?

In January 2008, when HTML5 was first released. Its primary goal was to keep the web language easily readable by humans and interpretable by computers. As a result, new Syntactic HTML tags were introduced by the World Wide Web Consortium(W3C).
HTML semantic elements became the standard way of enabling search engine crawlers to understand what each section of a page is about. This allows search engine algorithms to better understand and process the content, rank (index) it, and render it in search results.

Importance of Semantic HTML

  • Make accessible websites for disabled users - Visually impaired users use screen readers to get a clear understanding of the context of each section of a page on a website.
    Screen readers use web resources such as Alt text, Aria labels, color contrast, HTML structure (semantic tags) to elucidate and announce them accordingly to the users.  

  • HTML Standardization and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - HTML5 semantic elements were introduced to standardize the DOM structure on websites. This helps the search engines interpret the content and context of web pages better. Elements like <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, <section>, <footer> are semantic and help search engine crawlers understand the meaning and type of content inside them.

  • Better code readability and maintainability - Semantic HTML makes code more readable and understandable for developers, both for those who initially write it and for those who later maintain or update it.  

  • Responsive Design - Developers can create flexible layouts using the viewport meta tag (<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">) that adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes and orientations, improving usability and accessibility on mobile devices.  

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    <!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
   <meta charset="UTF-8">
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
   <title>Your Website Title</title>
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
 ...
 ...
</html>

Did You Know

  1. Negative Impact on SEO  

    Ignoring HTML semantic elements will cause search engine crawlers to see the page as only plain text, links, and images. They won't understand the content and context within the page, leading them to conclude it is low-quality content, which may result in a lower ranking in search results.

  2. A Case Study on Visually Impaired Users  

    In a study of 100 visually impaired users, it was found that they lose an average of 30.4% of their time due to frustrating situations with screen readers. This makes it harder for them to interpret content and navigate to other pages or sections on the web.

  3. Code Maintenance Challenges  A website full of non-semantic HTML tags like <div>, <span>, and <p> will make the code harder to maintain and update over time for developers.

How do search engine crawlers work?

Every page on the web passes through three stages by the search engines’ automated bots (also known as crawlers, robots, or spiders):

  1. Crawling - Google’s bot uses algorithms to crawl each URL they find on the internet and discover the content residing in it.
  2. Indexing - Crawled web pages’ texts, links, images, and videos are analyzed, indexed, and stored in clusters in large databases.
  3. Rendering - When an end user enters a query in the browser, the search engine looks for the best matching index of web page results and displays them as search results.

Essential HTML5 Semantic Tags to Use in Websites

There are more than 100 semantic elements declared and defined by the WHATWG group. Each HTML element falls into one or more of the following categories, which group elements with similar characteristics together:

  1. Metadata Content
  2. Flow Content
  3. Sectioning Content
  4. Heading Content
  5. Phrasing Content
  6. Embedded Content
  7. Interactive Content

![Picture representing the categories] (https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/dom.html#kinds-of-content)

A typical blog post may include a topic title, introduction, main article, and conclusion. It is essential to understand that each section of the article should be enclosed with the right set of HTML tags. Below are the HTML elements that will help search engines analyze and discover the contents of a blog post based on the enclosed HTML tag:

  • <header>
  • <meta>
  • <title>
  • <nav>
  • <main>
  • <article>
  • <section>
  • <a>
  • <blockquote>
  • <code>
  • <h1> - <h6>
  • <time>
  • <table>
  • <ol>
  • <ul>
  • <figure>
  • <figcaption>
  • <aside>
  • <form>
  • <footer>

Conclusion

Whether you are building the site yourself or hiring an experienced web agency, make sure to include the necessary semantic HTML elements in your website. This will ensure that your website is SEO-friendly and ranks higher in search results, ultimately driving more traffic to your site.

The title “Semantic HTML Tags for SEO” is clear and concise, effectively conveying the main focus of your blog post. Here are some additional considerations to ensure the title and content are fully optimized:

Title:

Semantic HTML Tags for SEO

Main Keywords:

  1. Semantic HTML5
  2. Technical SEO
  3. HTML5 SEO
  4. SEO-friendly HTML5

Tags:

  1. Semantic HTML5
  2. Technical SEO
  3. Web Accessibility
  4. SEO Best Practices

Meta Description:

“Learn how Semantic HTML5 can boost your website’s SEO and accessibility. Discover the essential HTML tags, the pitfalls of relying solely on CMS plugins, and best practices for creating SEO-friendly, accessible web content. Perfect for developers and website owners aiming to enhance their site’s visibility and user experience. Start optimizing your web content today for better results!”

Content Outline:

  1. Introduction

    • Importance of SEO in web content
    • Role of Semantic HTML in SEO

  2. Why Semantic HTML5 Matters

    • Enhancing search engine understanding
    • Improving accessibility
    • Case study or statistics on the impact

  3. Essential Semantic HTML Tags for SEO

    • <header>
    • <nav>
    • <main>
    • <article>
    • <section>
    • <footer>

  4. Benefits of Using Semantic HTML5

    • Better SEO rankings
    • Enhanced accessibility
    • Improved code readability and maintainability
    • Responsive design benefits

  5. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

    • Over-reliance on CMS plugins
    • Ignoring semantic elements
    • Incorrect implementation of tags

  6. CMS Plugins: Pros and Cons

    • Advantages of using SEO plugins
    • Potential drawbacks and performance issues

  7. Best Practices for Implementing Semantic HTML5

    • Consistency in using tags
    • Combining with other SEO strategies
    • Regular audits and updates

  8. Conclusion

    • Recap of the importance of Semantic HTML5 for SEO
    • Encouragement to implement best practices

Additional Tips:

  • Internal Links: Link to other related posts on your blog to keep readers engaged.
  • External Links: Link to authoritative sources or references to support your points.
  • Visuals: Include images, infographics, or code snippets to illustrate key points.
  • Call to Action: Encourage readers to subscribe, share, or comment on your blog post.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your blog post on “Semantic HTML Tags for SEO” is well-optimized, informative, and engaging for your target audience.

Provide practical examples and best practices for using semantic elements effectively in web development projects