Elements, tags, attributes & values

**chrishirst** · 04:41 AM

There is a common misconception especially in the SEO community over some components used in HTML documents, the most common one being the alt attributes of the image element. It is all too often referred to incorrectly, as an alt "tag".
This mis-information has spread and perpetuated, due in no small part to the proliferation of SEOs who have very little or no experience at all with the technicalities of HTML or website / webpage design.

So to try and redress the balance a little, we have a short tutorial / reference to what each item is.

Elements and Tags
tags are the start and end delimiters of HTML elements. A start tag would look like this: <title> and an end tag for the same element would be exactly the same, only with a forward slash "/" before the element name. so it would be </title>

The majority of HTML elements consist of a start tag and an end tag with the content of the element located in-between them.

HTML Code:

<title>This would be the page title</title>

Some elements do not have a corresponding end tag and are known as "self-closing elements".
These are element that do not have a separate content part, rather the content that is displayed or indicated by the element is referenced in an attribute. The self closing element most used in webpage design is probably the image element.

alt and title attributes
Here is where much confusion has been created. The alt attribute of the image element is of particular interest to anyone looking to optimise their pages for search.
The attribute exists to provide alternate text to be displayed in user agents that are not enabled with image rendering capabilities.
As search engine indexers cannot "read" or "see" images, the content of the alt attribute, the alt text, is used to determine the context of the image OR, if the image is used as a link the alt text is used as the anchor text. For the SEs where anchor text is used to reinforce the target page content, this is an important point.
BUT it is NOT a tag it is an attribute.
As with all visible HTML elements, the image element has a "title" attribute which has absolutely no use for search but should NOT be confused with the title element, which is without doubt the most important element on the page.

HTML Code:

<img src="image_path" alt="This is the alternate text" title="This is the title text" >

nofollow
nofollow is a means that has been developed by the three major Internet search engines where webmasters can show that an external link is NOT vouched for by the site owner and should not be used by the SEs to give value or weight to the target site. However, the implementation of the nofollow differs between the various engine, so it should NOT be taken as an absolute that applying a nofollow to external links will safeguard a page from incurring whatever "penalties" exist for linking to pages that are regarded as "bad neighbourhoods" by the SEs.

The nofollow is NOT a tag and it is NOT an attribute.
It is a value that can be applied to the rel attribute of anchor elements. This attribute is used to indicate a relationship for the anchor or link element to the resource indicated in the href attribute, as used for external style sheets, (rel="stylesheet")

HTML Code:

<a href="target_url" title="Some title text" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a>

**OSWebMaster** · 01-20-2008, 04:08 PM

Hi -

Helpful post, thanks. A couple of notes and questions:

The "alt" attribute is also helpful for people with handicaps who access page that are read to them with a page reader
Since we don't know the algorithm that Google and other search engines use, and it gets changed frequently, how do we know that they always:
1. Honor the "nofollow" value?
2. How they score the "alt" and "title" attributes?

Yours -
Scott

**chrishirst** · 01-20-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

The "alt" attribute is also helpful for people with handicaps who access page that are read to them with a page reader

True, but for the purpose of this thread I wasn't concerned with usability or accessibility concerns

Again for both points, Whether SEs "honour" the nofollow value or what weight they put on the alt text is NOT the topic of the thread and it was not and is not the reason I wrote the post.

but just for the record, the "weighting" of the title attribute of ANY element is 0, tested and proven!

**firesign** · 01-21-2008, 07:28 AM

This is a very helpful information Sir... Thanks for sharing this...

**jamestl2** · 02-10-2008, 11:45 PM

I think this is just a copy and pasted article

:
http://www.candsdesign.co.uk/article...es-and-values/

Seriously though, these are good tips, I think you should sticky this thread.

**ADAM Web Design** · 02-11-2008, 02:23 AM

So Hirst is stealing content from himself now? It's not bad enough that he steals mine...he's got to steal his own now, too.

**express** · 03-13-2008, 07:18 AM

Hello chrishirst,

This is Stolen Content, please remove it....

Thanks..

**chrishirst** · 03-13-2008, 08:42 AM

'scuse me while I stop laughing

**Learning Newbie** · 03-13-2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

So Hirst is stealing content from himself now? It's not bad enough that he steals mine...he's got to steal his own now, too.

Opportunistic reuse? Hirst is about the best computer programmer in the world after God himself, so why shouldn't he be able to reuse code, even if isn't technically code?

Quote:

Originally Posted by express

Hello chrishirst,

This is Stolen Content, please remove it....

Thanks..

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishirst

'scuse me while I stop laughing

I need some movie theatre popcorn.

**express** · 03-14-2008, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishirst

'scuse me while I stop laughing

Do one thing go to Pagal Khana. You are mental..

**chrishirst** · 03-14-2008, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by express

You are mental..

That's as maybe, but you were the one who commented on my post being "Stolen Material" from my site

Though actually it's really the other way around

I wrote the post here then expanded on it a little.

**willcode4beer** · 03-17-2008, 04:49 PM

Thought I might add one.

The opposite of:

Code:

<a ... rel="nofollow"...

is

Code:

<a ... rel="vote-for"...

**meet2rakeshjha** · 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishirst

True, but for the purpose of this thread I wasn't concerned with usability or accessibility concerns

Again for both points, Whether SEs "honour" the nofollow value or what weight they put on the alt text is NOT the topic of the thread and it was not and is not the reason I wrote the post.

but just for the record, the "weighting" of the title attribute of ANY element is 0, tested and proven!

Sir, I think google crawl the site with "nofollow". Is it right or not please share your knowledge with us.

01-20-2008, 03:19 PM	#1 (permalink) Elements, tags, attributes & values
chrishirst Super Moderator Posts: 10,639 Location: Blackpool. UK Talkupation:	There is a common misconception *especially* in the SEO community over some components used in HTML documents, the most common one being the alt attributes of the image element. It is all too often referred to incorrectly, as an alt "tag". This mis-information has spread and perpetuated, due in no small part to the proliferation of SEOs who have very little or no experience at all with the technicalities of HTML or website / webpage design. So to try and redress the balance a little, we have a short tutorial / reference to what each item is. Elements and Tags tags are the start and end delimiters of HTML elements. A start tag would look like this: <title> and an end tag for the same element would be exactly the same, only with a forward slash "/" before the element name. so it would be </title> The majority of HTML elements consist of a start tag and an end tag with the content of the element located in-between them. HTML Code: <title>This would be the page title</title> Some elements do not have a corresponding end tag and are known as "self-closing elements". These are element that do not have a separate content part, rather the content that is displayed or indicated by the element is referenced in an attribute. The self closing element most used in webpage design is probably the image element. alt and title attributes Here is where much confusion has been created. The alt attribute of the image element is of particular interest to anyone looking to optimise their pages for search. The attribute exists to provide alternate text to be displayed in user agents that are not enabled with image rendering capabilities. As search engine indexers cannot "read" or "see" images, the content of the alt attribute, the alt text, is used to determine the context of the image OR, if the image is used as a link the alt text is used as the anchor text. For the SEs where anchor text is used to reinforce the target page content, this is an important point. BUT it is NOT a tag it is an attribute. As with all visible HTML elements, the image element has a "title" attribute which has absolutely no use for search but should NOT be confused with the title element, which is without doubt the most important element on the page. HTML Code: <img src="image_path" alt="This is the alternate text" title="This is the title text" > nofollow nofollow is a means that has been developed by the three major Internet search engines where webmasters can show that an external link is NOT vouched for by the site owner and should not be used by the SEs to give value or weight to the target site. However, the implementation of the nofollow differs between the various engine, so it should NOT be taken as an absolute that applying a nofollow to external links will safeguard a page from incurring whatever "penalties" exist for linking to pages that are regarded as "bad neighbourhoods" by the SEs. The nofollow is NOT a tag and it is NOT an attribute. It is a value that can be applied to the rel attribute of anchor elements. This attribute is used to indicate a relationship for the anchor or link element to the resource indicated in the href attribute, as used for external style sheets, (rel="stylesheet") HTML Code: <a href="target_url" title="Some title text" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a> __________________ Chris. ->> Links are advertising NOT optimising!! <<- Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? Code Samples \| People Counting System Last edited by chrishirst : 03-08-2008 at 04:41 AM.

01-20-2008, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
OSWebMaster Super Talker Latest Blog Post: Web Hosts Becoming Website Package Providers Posts: 136 Name: Scott Frangos Talkupation:	Hi - Helpful post, thanks. A couple of notes and questions: The "alt" attribute is also helpful for people with handicaps who access page that are read to them with a page reader Since we don't know the algorithm that Google and other search engines use, and it gets changed frequently, how do we know that they always: Honor the "nofollow" value? How they score the "alt" and "title" attributes? Yours - Scott __________________ Scott A. Frangos, Technical Writer & BlogMaster - Blog Services: WebFadds.com - BLOG: OpenSourceWebMaster.com

01-21-2008, 07:28 AM	#4 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
firesign Skilled Talker Posts: 50 Talkupation:	This is a very helpful information Sir... Thanks for sharing this... __________________

02-10-2008, 11:45 PM	#5 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
jamestl2 Hey..... Latest Blog Post: How to Fix the SRG Clean Archives Wordpress 2.5 Pl... Posts: 1,558 Name: James, if you couldn't tell from my username Talkupation:	I think this is just a copy and pasted article : http://www.candsdesign.co.uk/article...es-and-values/ Seriously though, these are good tips, I think you should sticky this thread. __________________ Read this if you are new. \| PageRank only applies to Web PAGES. *Conspiracy-Forums -* THE Place to discuss Conspiracies

02-11-2008, 02:23 AM	#6 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
ADAM Web Design Canadastaninianite Latest Blog Post: A Strange Forum Policy: The Boutique Board Posts: 5,947 Name: Adam for web page design, not program Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Talkupation:	So Hirst is stealing content from himself now? It's not bad enough that he steals mine...he's got to steal his own now, too. __________________ Search Engine Friendly Layouts \| Walk on My Path (my blog) eBay Caters to Content Thieves (with proof)

03-13-2008, 07:18 AM	#7 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
express Novice Talker Posts: 9 Name: Express SEO Talkupation:	Hello chrishirst, This is Stolen Content, please remove it.... Thanks.. __________________

03-13-2008, 08:42 AM	#8 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
chrishirst Super Moderator Posts: 10,639 Location: Blackpool. UK Talkupation:	'scuse me while I stop laughing __________________ Chris. ->> Links are advertising NOT optimising!! <<- Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? Code Samples \| People Counting System

03-17-2008, 04:49 PM	#12 (permalink) Re: Elements, tags, attributes & values
willcode4beer Webmaster Talker Posts: 525 Name: Paul Davis Location: San Francisco Talkupation:	Thought I might add one. The opposite of: Code: <a ... rel="nofollow"... is Code: <a ... rel="vote-for"... __________________ Paul Davis willCode4Beer.com (coding for all the right reasons)