amount of code that appears before content

[sem_scotty]

in your opinion/experience, does a significant amount of code (such as scripts, nav info) that appears in the code before/above the actual content affect SEO? if so, how much?

thanks - and happy new year!

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[tedster]

It sure used to make a difference, years back. I got into the habit of always putting content as high in the html docment as I can and I never looked back. External files are your friend!

When working with sites that clients bring me, this is often one of the changes I make, and I almost always see improved rankings. But I'm also changing many things at once, so I can't say I've isolated and tested this one factor for many years. And during that time, search engines have definitely become more sophisiticated, so it may no longer be as big a factor as it once was.

[zeekstern]

I am certainly no expert but it just so happens I read an article yesterday on this exact thing. What the "Expert" said was that the search engines start reading from top left on down. They gave an example of a 2 column website layout that had the links etc in the first small col and the content in the second column. He showed how to reposition the code so the second column (content) appeared first when you viewed the source. So yes, according to him it matters.

Zeek

[caveman]

zeekstern, what you're referring to is a different thing. You're referencing a practice of altering, for example, standard tables so that the more valuable content appears higher in the HTML and is therefore given more 'importance' than left column nav elements. But in this case, both sets of information - the content/text and the nav - are visible on the actual page when viewed with a browser.

The OP's question involves code not visible with a browser, and whether having a bunch of it preceding the contents of the visible page matters. Like tedster, I think it matters, but not much. Still, because I think it matters even a little, I am in the habit of always trying to get the content of the page as high in the code as possible.

In many categories, top rankings is now a game of inches. I see lots of examples of pages that rank well with tons of code preceeding on-page contents. But in a game of inches, why not give your pages every possible chance to rank as well as they possibly can? Every positive tweak carries with it the potential to raise the ranking of a given page.

[zeekstern]

Thanks for pointing that out Caveman. I saw the term nav and thought he was referring to Links. It amazes me at what is involved in optimizing a site.