Google + tabled content = good or bad?

does content in tables affect the way content is interpreted by googlebot?

[ekimmerce]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this one's been answered before....

What impact does having textual content in tables have on googlebots ability to interpret page content and ranking for both generic and more granular keyphrases?

Results from a current experiment Im running with two completely seperate but optimised sites with around 4 PR, are confusing me. One is being found under phrases that occur in textual content outside tables in a page. The other is being found under phrases that occur in textual content inside tables in the page. Both have roughly the same amount of links from indexed high PR sites with relevant link text.

Can anyone advise me of their experiences with this issue?

[WibbleWobble]

Its highly doubtful that google has any trouble reading it. Its almost certainly the preferred method infact, given most of the web currently is designed inside tables, or frames - the latter being less navigable by googlebot.

[astounded]

One effect - how the tables are arranged determines the order that the content is viewed by the spider. So, take a look at the source code to see what a spider sees.