Hello friends, I wonder, which tag is more important for Google: <b> or <strong>? How many times do you you either of those to emphasize your keywords? thanks
I'd go for <strong> to give more emphasis to the words that you want to give importance. It would also be useful if you apply it on contextual links however don't over use it as what LBP said.
Thanks so much guys, you helped me a lot. I've been pondering on this for a while. Do you think I can use <strong> tag up to 10 times per page? (one tag per one short paragraph?) thanks again
You have just to use it logically, if there really is the need of using them like ten times then I don't think it is going to be a problem. It is always about being natural and without spamming or stuffing tendency intended. Use it wisely.
A while back Matt Cutts was asked this. He had an engineer peek at the actual code and said that <b> and <strong> carry the EXACT same weight in their algo... and <i> and <em> also carried the same weight. So it shouldn't matter which you pick. But IMO this should be used VERY sparingly. Personally, I detest sites that bold a page's targeted keyword phrase(s) throughout its content. They look cheap and spammy.
I think <strong> tag would be more important for Google. <strong> is semantic - it describes the text should be stronger than the rest of the text. all the best,
In HTML, <strong> and <b> are used to make any text bold! But, in Google <strong> is use to make a keyword important.
You can use <strong> for your main targeted keywords but don't overuse it. its not good for promotion work....
Cutts said they are the same, but who knows. You can always stick with strong to be safe but I think both are =
<strong> is more useful then <b> google gives more value <strong> then <b> you can use <strong> for highlighting keyword.
Has anyone ever seen any tests results to see if strong does actually affect rankings? I have never seen any concrete proof on the matter and it can make a website look a little unproffesional.
Interesting. I didn't know that the <strong> tag were better than the <b> tag. I wish there was a little known fact cheat list for SEO.
I agree. They both carry equal weight with google - and it is VERY little weight. If it helps the reader, then use it. If it doesn't, then don't. I used to use bold a lot when I wrote, now I don't. But as to your original question, bold and strong have the same effect... which is not much.
Write content for your visitors, not Google. From a coding point of view, <strong> is the more correct choice. Use it in headings but avoid it in the body of a paragraph (1 or 2 are ok). G is not impressed by bolding text.