I am highlighting key words on my web pages using the <b> tag. I have set all <b> tags to font-weight: normal in my global stylesheet and was wondering if this would be considered a 'black hat' technique by search engines? My colleague seems to think so but i'm not too sure as it's just styling. Does anyone know or have an opinion?
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1What Word tag are you referring to?– John Conde ♦Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 16:38
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Sorry, my formatting didn't work. I'm referring to the bold tag.– codemonkeyCommented Aug 19, 2011 at 16:44
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2 Answers
If you're using the <b> tag but making it look like normal text then this is black hat SEO. The only reason why someone would do this is to manipulate their search engine rankings. That's a blatant violation of the search engines' terms of service.
answered Aug 19, 2011 at 16:47
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This is SEO 101. While not explicitly mentioned, this page covers it quite well. Basically, don't serve up content only for search engines and avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.– John Conde ♦Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 17:12
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I understand what you're saying but the reason I transformed the style of bold tags to normal weight is for a cosmetic purpose. It wasn't my intention to hide it from the user. Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 17:20
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3If the text isn't going to be bold, why use the bold tag at all?– John Conde ♦Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 17:28
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I understand now. I've set all my b tags to font-weight: bold again. You're right. What is the point in using them if the user can't see them. Commented Aug 20, 2011 at 10:43
Semantically the bold tag doesn't mean much and therefor I wouldn't consider it to be black hat SEO tactics. If however you were to do the same to the strong or em tags you are definitely abusing their use.
However, it might not be explicitly mentioned but like everyone has been saying it probably won't do your SEO any good. John makes a good point, why would you use it if it isn't for styling? Check WHATWG for more information on the exact semantics of the different tags and choose the right on for your needs.
