Bold, underline, italics

CliveG · 09-14-2009, 05:41 AM

I was reading something last night that suggested that if you place keywords on your web page in bold, underline, or italics tags, the search engines would place emphasis on those terms and that would benefit you.

Does anyone have any experience that this is in fact the case? It seems a rather simple approach to me that would be open to abuse and if it ever worked possibly does not any more. But I'm interested in others' experiences.

TMG Enterprises · 09-14-2009, 06:09 AM

I have heard that. The advice I had read was to include at least one instance of the keyword phrase in bold. I don't know if that's true, either. Plus, most of the time, it looks plain silly on the page.

Tina

CliveG · 09-14-2009, 06:24 AM

Hi Tina,

Thanks for responding. Yes it does look silly on the page but if it really worked I could live with that or (and I have just tested that it does work) I could remove the formatting with CSS.

Cheers, Clive

inovica · 09-14-2009, 06:29 AM

I agree it looks a little silly on the page, but I think that used in the right context it can help. All that you're doing by using bold, italics etc is letting the search engines know that those words are important to you.

Personally I don't use it on my site, but when I write articles for SEO purposes I do use bold and italics to highlight keywords, especially towards the beginning of the article.

bgmacaw · 09-14-2009, 06:33 AM

I have experimented with this a lot and I haven't noticed any significant difference when it comes to bold/italic/underline so far as SEO goes. I suspect that this is a holdover from earlier days when using stylesheets wasn't as common as it is today.

Modifying the style of phrases you want to emphasize can have an impact on visitors though.

kaka21 · 09-14-2009, 06:39 AM

I have heard this too. Do not abuse it though, just bold you main key[hrase once in your first paragraph, and italics your main keyphrase in your final paragraph.. that is what I do

devilishsaint · 09-14-2009, 06:42 AM

i don't think so its true i hadn't experimented it but the way search engine works it doesn't seem viable.

Smokey_Joe · 09-14-2009, 07:09 AM

I heard that too a while ago (and I guess it's really stale news that is not worth much right now) that it is advisable that webmasters use the strong css element as opposed to the html bold element. I'm not sure how valid it is though.

CliveG · 09-14-2009, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smokey_Joe

I heard that too a while ago (and I guess it's really stale news that is not worth much right now) that it is advisable that webmasters use the strong css element as opposed to the html bold element. I'm not sure how valid it is though.

Yes, I switched to using strong rather than bold quite a long time ago but I cannot remember why!

Smokey_Joe · 09-14-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CliveG

Yes, I switched to using strong rather than bold quite a long time ago but I cannot remember why!

Lol, I second that sentiment - I do remember it has to be done, but I'm clueless as to where I got the idea.

09-14-2009, 05:41 AM	#1
CliveG HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom Posts: 300 Thanks: 5 Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Bold, underline, italics I was reading something last night that suggested that if you place keywords on your web page in bold, underline, or italics tags, the search engines would place emphasis on those terms and that would benefit you. Does anyone have any experience that this is in fact the case? It seems a rather simple approach to me that would be open to abuse and if it ever worked possibly does not any more. But I'm interested in others' experiences.

09-14-2009, 06:09 AM	#2
TMG Enterprises Tina Golden War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 1,995 Thanks: 809 Thanked 452 Times in 333 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Bold, underline, italics I have heard that. The advice I had read was to include at least one instance of the keyword phrase in bold. I don't know if that's true, either. Plus, most of the time, it looks plain silly on the page. Tina
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09-14-2009, 06:24 AM	#3
CliveG HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom Posts: 300 Thanks: 5 Thanked 29 Times in 28 Posts	Re: Bold, underline, italics Hi Tina, Thanks for responding. Yes it does look silly on the page but if it really worked I could live with that or (and I have just tested that it does work) I could remove the formatting with CSS. Cheers, Clive

09-14-2009, 06:29 AM	#4
inovica Warrior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Bold, underline, italics I agree it looks a little silly on the page, but I think that used in the right context it can help. All that you're doing by using bold, italics etc is letting the search engines know that those words are important to you. Personally I don't use it on my site, but when I write articles for SEO purposes I do use bold and italics to highlight keywords, especially towards the beginning of the article.
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09-14-2009, 06:33 AM	#5
bgmacaw Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Metro Area, USA. Posts: 1,771 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 62 Thanked 295 Times in 236 Posts Social Networking	Re: Bold, underline, italics I have experimented with this a lot and I haven't noticed any significant difference when it comes to bold/italic/underline so far as SEO goes. I suspect that this is a holdover from earlier days when using stylesheets wasn't as common as it is today. Modifying the style of phrases you want to emphasize can have an impact on visitors though.
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09-14-2009, 06:39 AM	#6
kaka21 Active Warrior Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 71 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Bold, underline, italics I have heard this too. Do not abuse it though, just bold you main key[hrase once in your first paragraph, and italics your main keyphrase in your final paragraph.. that is what I do
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09-14-2009, 06:42 AM	#7
devilishsaint Webweaver Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 124 Thanks: 4 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Social Networking	Re: Bold, underline, italics i don't think so its true i hadn't experimented it but the way search engine works it doesn't seem viable.
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09-14-2009, 07:09 AM	#8
Smokey_Joe HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 264 Thanks: 7 Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Re: Bold, underline, italics I heard that too a while ago (and I guess it's really stale news that is not worth much right now) that it is advisable that webmasters use the strong css element as opposed to the html bold element. I'm not sure how valid it is though.
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