An interesting experiment was conducted recently by Mark Daoust, SEO specialist and owner of SiteReference.com, in which he tried to discover the effects of valid and invalid page markup on Google's PageRank™ results. It's worth checking out as the results, although far from conclusive, may surprise you.
The really odd thing that came out of that experiment, however, was the resulting forum discussion. Strangely, a great many web designers and website owners seem to be of the opinion that they're clean and carefully validated markup should have some bearing on their resulting Google PageRank™--as if Google should reward websites with valid code by giving them higher PageRank™ values than an equal site with poorer page markup. There's even some consensus out there that both MSN and Yahoo actually do just that.
...Ranking based on code would hurt numerous sources of valuable information...
Even as an anal coder who loves and preaches valid, accessible coding practices, I know that that is not what will or should ever happen. Ranking based on code would really hurt numerous sources of valuable information. Just for the record, because there are clearly people that don't get it, Google is a search engine, not a code validator, and I for one hope that it always stays that way.
...Google is a search engine, not a code validator...
If I'm searching for the latest medical information on some rare illness affecting me or my loved ones, I want that search to extend to absolutely anywhere that information might be found. I don't want the most relevant information dropped to page 45 or so of Google because the doctor doing the latest research on that disease doesn't code his/her web pages properly. The same thing applies if I'm just looking for a really good chili recipe. The coding has nothing to do with it.
I happen to be a big fan of the way Google ranks sites. Out of the trillions of web pages that they have to sort through, they always manage to get the most relevant information for anything I'm searching for to the top of their list within less than a second. No one complains about Google's PageRank™ when they're searching for information in general; they only complain when they don't see their own site near the top, and that's just sad.
...Content must always win over any other consideration...
I preach valid coding to web developers, no one else. Information providers should provide valid information. That's it. The web makes the world into a giant neighborhood. If I'm looking for a yard sale, I don't skip one because the sign is hand-drawn, misspelled, and nailed to a post rather than being professionally designed. If it's what I'm looking for or happen to want at that moment, I go.
...Code is the throne; content is king...
Content must always win over any other consideration. Design your site well, code it well, make it useable and accessible to everyone, let people know it's there, and you'll still only have an adequate site. Fill it with useful, interesting, dynamic, original content and you'll have a site that draws people back again and again.
Code is the throne; content is king.
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