HTML 4 SEO

Below is a listing of all HTML 4 Elements that you as an SEO Consultant will be involved with at some point during your tenure. You should be familiar with the various HTML Elements and HTML Attributes that are available to you for on page SEO techniques.

You should also know when to use what Elements and/or Attributes (also referred to as Best Practices for HTML Authoring) in any given circumstances.

When you're finished reviewing and assimilating the below information, you can test your knowledge with our Basic HTML Elements and HTML Attributes Testing Modules.

Best Practices for HTML Authoring

Below we've provided HTML examples and links to the Techniques for WCAG 2.0 documents along with links to peer discussions at WebmasterWorld of how these HTML 4 Elements may be utilized from an SEO Best Practices perspective.

Deprecated HTML 4 Elements

We've excluded all deprecated HTML 4 Elements: APPLET, BASEFONT, CENTER, DIR, FONT, ISINDEX, MENU, S, STRIKE, and U.

Deprecated: A term often utilized when referring to HTML specifications that are considered to be obsolete and/or in the process of being phased out, usually in favor of a specified replacement.

HTML Elements and HTML Attributes

• HTML 4 Elements Quick Reference A ADDRESS BDO BODY BR H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6 HR HTML IMG NOSCRIPT OBJECT P PARAM PRE SCRIPT SUB, SUP BASE HEAD LINK META STYLE TITLE DIV SPAN ABBR ACRONYM CITE CODE DFN EM KBD SAMP STRONG VAR BLOCKQUOTE Q B BIG I SMALL TT DEL INS DD DL DT LI OL UL BUTTON FIELDSET FORM INPUT LABEL LEGEND OPTGROUP OPTION SELECT TEXTAREA CAPTION COL COLGROUP TABLE TD TH THEAD, TFOOT, TBODY TR FRAME FRAMESET IFRAME NOFRAMES AREA MAP References/Recommended Reading for SEOs

A

Anchor. Each A element defines an anchor. The A element's content defines the position of the anchor.

<a href="/html4/elements/">HTML 4 SEO Best Practices for HTML Authoring</a>

Attributes: accesskey, charset, class, coords, dir, href, hreflang, id, lang, name, rel, rev, shape, style, tabindex, target, title, type

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H2: Combining adjacent image and text links for the same resource
• H30: Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link for anchor elements
• H33: Supplementing link text with the title attribute

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ABBR

Abbreviated Forms: For example, SEO, SEM, WWW, HTTP, etc. Do not confuse ABBR with ACRONYM and/or vice versa. If the abbreviation and/or initialism is not pronounced as a word then utilize the ABBR element and not the ACRONYM element described below. ABBR is a phrase element.

<abbr title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</abbr>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H28: Providing definitions for abbreviations by using the abbr and acronym elements
• Further discussion about the ABBR Element at WebmasterWorld

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ACRONYM

Acronym: A word or name that is formed by combining the first letters (or the first few letters) of a series of words. For example, SERP is the acronym for Search Engine Results Page. An ACRONYM can be and/or is pronounced as a word, whereas many other abbreviations and/or initialisms can not and/or are not. ACRONYM is a phrase element.

<acronym title="Search Engine Results Page">SERP</acronym>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H28: Providing definitions for abbreviations by using the abbr and acronym elements
• Further discussion about the ACRONYM Element at WebmasterWorld

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ADDRESS

Information on Author: The ADDRESS element may be used by authors to supply contact information for a document and often appears at the beginning or end of a document. Our example below utilizes a Tagged Format for presentation of information.

<address>
Contact:
Organization:
Address:
City, State, Zip, Country
Tel: +1-714-555-1212
Website: http://example.com/
</address>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• Further discussion about the ADDRESS Element at WebmasterWorld

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AREA

Client-Side Image Map Area: When a user activates a region of a client-side image map with a mouse, the pixel coordinates are interpreted by the user agent. The user agent selects a link that was specified for the activated region and follows it.

<map name="">
<area href="" shape="" coords="" alt="">
</map>

Attributes: accesskey, class, coords, dir, href, id, lang, name, nohref, shape, style, tabindex, target, title, usemap

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H24: Providing text alternatives for the area elements of image maps

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B

Bold Text Style: This is a font style element for presentation only. Normally utilized to provide a visual change in text for presentation purposes only. Often misused and confused with the STRONG element.

<b>Bold text style for presentation only.</b>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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BASE

Document Base URI: The BASE element allows authors to specify a document's base URI explicitly.

<base href="http://www.seoconsultants.com/html4/elements/">

Attributes: href, target

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BDO

I18N BiDi Override: The BDO element allows authors to turn off the bidirectional algorithm for selected fragments of text.

<bdo dir="ltr">This text reads left to right.</bdo>
<bdo dir="rtl">This text reads right to left.</bdo>

Attributes: dir, lang

• H34: Using a Unicode right-to-left mark (RLM) or left-to-right mark (LRM) to mix text direction inline
• H56: Using the dir attribute on an inline element to resolve problems with nested directional runs

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BIG

Large Text Style: This is a font style element that renders text in a large font.

<big>Renders as big text.</big>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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BLOCKQUOTE

Long Quotation: BLOCKQUOTE is for long quotations (block level content) and Q is intended for short quotations (inline content) that don't require paragraph breaks.

These two elements (BLOCKQUOTE and Q) designate quoted text. BLOCKQUOTE is for long quotations (block level content) and Q is intended for short quotations (inline content) that don't require paragraph breaks.

The usage of BLOCKQUOTE to indent text is deprecated in favor of style sheets.

BLOCKQUOTE CSS Style Option

blockquote{color:#000;margin:1.0em 2.0em;}
blockquote p:before{content:"\201c";}
blockquote p:after{content:"\201d";}

Attributes: class, cite, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H58: Using language attributes to identify changes in the human language
• Further discussion about the BLOCKQUOTE Element at WebmasterWorld

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BODY

Document Body: The body of a document contains the document's content.

<body>
Document content resides between the opening and closing BODY elements.
</body>

Attributes: bgcolor, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onload, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup, onunload

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BR

Force Line Break: The BR element forcibly breaks (ends) the current line of text.

<br>
New line caused by forced line break.

Attributes: class, clear, id, style, title

Note: Shift+Enter (a Soft Return), creates a <br> and Enter (a Hard Return), creates a <p> (or selected element) in most WYSIWYG Editors.

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BUTTON

Push Button: Buttons created with the BUTTON element function just like buttons created with the INPUT element, but they offer richer rendering possibilities.

<button></button>

Attributes: accesskey, class, dir, disabled, id, lang, name, style, tabindex, title, type, value

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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CAPTION

Table Caption: When present, the CAPTION element's text should describe the nature of the table. The CAPTION element is only permitted immediately after the TABLE start tag. A TABLE element may only contain one CAPTION element.

<caption></caption>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup,

• H39: Using caption elements to associate data table captions with data tables

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CITE

Citation: This is a phrase element and contains a citation or a reference to other sources.

<p>As <cite>Barack Obama</cite> said, <q>Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.</q></p>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text
• Further discussion 1 on the CITE Element at WebmasterWorld
• Further discussion 2 on the CITE Element at WebmasterWorld

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CODE

Computer Code Fragment: Designates a fragment of computer code.

The expression <code>x += 1</code> is short for <code>x = x + 1</code>.

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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COL

Table Column: The COL element allows authors to group together attribute specifications for table columns. The COL does not group columns together structurally, that is the role of the COLGROUP element. COL elements are empty and serve only as a support for attributes.

<colgroup span="">
<col></col>
<col></col>
</colgroup>

Attributes: align, char, charoff, class, dir, id, lang, span, style, title, valign, width

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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COLGROUP

Table Column Group: The COLGROUP element creates an explicit column group. The number of columns in the column group may be specified in two, mutually exclusive ways.

<colgroup span=""></colgroup>

Attributes: align, char, charoff, class, dir, id, lang, span, style, title, valign, width

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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DL, DT, DD

Definition List, Definition Term, Definition Description: Definition lists vary only slightly from other types of lists in that list items consist of two parts: a term <dt></dt> and a description <dd></dd>. The term is given by the DT element and is restricted to inline content. The description is given with a DD element that contains block level content.

<dl>
<dt>SEO</dt>
<dd>Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.</dd>
</dl>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H40: Using definition lists
• H48: Using ol, ul and dl for lists
• Examples of DL Element usage in a Glossary
• Further discussion about the DL Element at WebmasterWorld

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DEL

Deleted Text: INS and DEL are used to markup sections of the document that have been inserted or deleted with respect to a different version of a document (e.g. in blog authoring where publishers need to view changes made).

<del>Search Engine Optimization</del>
<ins>Search Engine Marketing</ins>

Attributes: cite, class, datetime, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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DFN

Definition: Indicates that this is the defining instance of the enclosed term.

<ul>
<li><dfn>SEM</dfn>: Search Engine Marketing is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promoting of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages also referred to as SERPs.</li>
<li><dfn>SEO</dfn>: Search Engine Optimization is a subset of SEM and involves the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via natural (organic or algorithmic) search results.</li>
</ul>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text
• H54: Using the dfn element to identify the defining instance of a word
• Further discussion about the DFN Element at WebmasterWorld

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DIV

Generic Style Container: The DIV and SPAN elements, in conjunction with the id and class attributes, offer a generic mechanism for adding structure to documents. These elements define content to be inline (SPAN) or block level (DIV) but impose no other presentational idioms on the content.

<div>
</div>

Attributes: align, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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EM

Emphasis: EM is a phrase element indicating emphasis.

For example, these two words; <em>indicating emphasis</em> are enclosed in the <em></em> element. EM is not to be confused with I which is a font style element. For example, these four words; <i>applying italics for presentation</i> are enclosed in the <i></i> element.

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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FIELDSET

Form Control Group: The FIELDSET element allows authors to group thematically related controls and labels. Grouping controls makes it easier for users to understand their purpose while simultaneously facilitating tabbing navigation for visual user agents and speech navigation for speech oriented user agents. The proper use of this element makes documents more accessible.

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H71: Providing a description for groups of form controls using fieldset and legend elements

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FORM

Interactive Form: The FORM element acts as a container for controls.

Attributes: accept, accept-charset, action, class, dir, enctype, id, lang, method, name, style, target, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup, onreset, onsubmit

• H4: Creating a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects
• H91: Using HTML form controls and links

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FRAME

Subwindow: The FRAME element defines the contents and appearance of a single frame.

Attributes: class, frameborder, id, longdesc, marginwidth, marginheight, name, noresize, scrolling, src, style, title

• H64: Using the title attribute of the frame and iframe elements

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FRAMESET

Window Subdivision: The FRAMESET element specifies the layout of the main user window in terms of rectangular subspaces.

Attributes: class, cols, id, rows, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onload, onunload

• H70: Using frame elements to group blocks of repeated material

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H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6

Heading Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: A heading element briefly describes the topic of the section it introduces. Heading information may be used by user agents, for example, to construct a table of contents for a document automatically.

<h1></h1>
<h2></h2>
<h3></h3>
<h4></h4>
<h5></h5>
<h6></h6>

Attributes: align, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H42: Using h1-h6 to identify headings
• H69: Providing heading elements at the beginning of each section of content
• Further discussion about the H Element at WebmasterWorld

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HEAD

Document Head: The HEAD element contains information about the current document, such as its title, keywords that may be useful to search engines, and other data that is not considered document content. User agents do not generally render elements that appear in the HEAD as content. They may, however, make information in the HEAD available to users through other mechanisms.

<head>
</head>

Attributes: dir, lang, profile

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HR

Horizontal Rule: The HR element causes a horizontal rule to be rendered by visual user agents.

<hr>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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HTML

Document Root Level: After document type declaration, the remainder of an HTML document is contained by the HTML element.

<html>
</html>

Attributes: dir, lang, version

• H57: Using language attributes on the html element
• H88: Using HTML according to spec

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I

Italic Text Style: This is a font style element that renders as <i>italic text style</i>. Not to be confused with the EM element which is used for indicating emphasis.

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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IFRAME

Inline Subwindow: The IFRAME element allows authors to insert a frame within a block of text. Inserting an inline frame within a section of text is much like inserting an object via the OBJECT element: they both allow you to insert an HTML document in the middle of another, they may both be aligned with surrounding text, etc.

<iframe>
</iframe>

Attributes: align, class, frameborder, id, longdesc, height, marginwidth, marginheight, name, scrolling, src, style, title, width

• H64: Using the title attribute of the frame and iframe elements

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IMG

Embedded Image: The IMG element embeds an image in the current document at the location of the element's definition. The IMG element has no content; it is usually replaced inline by the image designated by the src attribute, the exception being for left or right aligned images that are "floated" out of line.

<img src="" width="" height="" alt="">

Attributes: alt, align, border, class, dir, id, height, hspace, ismap, lang, longdesc, name, src, style, title, usemap, vspace, width

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H36: Using alt attributes on images used as submit buttons
• H37: Using alt attributes on img elements
• H45: Using longdesc
• H67: Using null alt text and no title attribute on img elements for images that AT should ignore

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INPUT

Form Control: The control type defined by the INPUT element depends on the value of the type attribute.

<input name="" type="">

Attributes: accept, accesskey, align, alt, checked, class, dir, disabled, id, ismap, lang, maxlength, name, readonly, size, src, style, tabindex, title, type, usemap, value

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onchange, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup, onselect

• H4: Creating a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects
• H91: Using HTML form controls and links

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INS

Inserted Text: INS and DEL are used to markup sections of the document that have been inserted or deleted with respect to a different version of a document (e.g., in draft legislation where lawmakers need to view the changes).

<ins>Search Engine Optimization</ins>
<del>Search Engine Marketing</del>

Attributes: cite, class, datetime, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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KBD

Keyboard: Text to be entered by the user.

<kbd></kbd>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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LABEL

Form Field Label Text: The LABEL element may be used to attach information to controls. Each LABEL element is associated with exactly one form control.

<label for="Radio1">This Radio Button 1 has a label associated with it.</label> <input type="radio" value="Selected" name="Radio" id="Radio1">

Attributes: accesskey, class, dir, for, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H44: Using label elements to associate text labels with form controls
• H90: Indicating required form controls
• More information on the LABEL Element
• Further discussion about the LABEL Element at WebmasterWorld

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LEGEND

Fieldset Legend: The LEGEND element allows authors to assign a caption to a FIELDSET. The legend improves accessibility when the FIELDSET is rendered non-visually.

<fieldset>
<legend>Personal Information</legend>
First Name: <input name="" type="">
Last Name: <input name="" type="">
Address: <input name="" type="">
</fieldset>

Attributes: accesskey, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H71: Providing a description for groups of form controls using fieldset and legend elements

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LI

List Item: Ordered and unordered lists are rendered in an identical manner except that visual user agents number ordered list items. Both types of lists are made up of sequences of list items defined by the LI element.

<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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LINK

Media Independent Link: This element defines a link. Unlike A, it may only appear in the HEAD section of a document, although it may appear any number of times. Although LINK has no content, it conveys relationship information that may be rendered by user agents in a variety of ways (e.g., a toolbar with a dropdown menu of links).

<link rel="" href="">

Attributes: charset, class, dir, href, hreflang, id, lang, media, rel, rev, style, target, title, type

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H59: Using the link element and navigation tools
• H60: Using the link element to link to a glossary
• More information on the LINK Element
• Further discussion about the LINK Element at WebmasterWorld

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MAP

Client-Side Image Map: The MAP element specifies a client-side image map (or other navigation mechanism) that may be associated with another elements (IMG, OBJECT, or INPUT). An image map is associated with an element via the element's usemap attribute. The MAP element may be used without an associated image for general navigation mechanisms.

<map name="">
<area href="" shape="" coords="" alt="">
</map>

Attributes: accesskey, class, coords, dir, href, id, lang, name, nohref, shape, style, tabindex, target, title, usemap

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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META

Generic Metadata: Information about information. The META element can be used to identify properties of a document (e.g., author, expiration date, a list of key words, etc.) and assign values to those properties. This specification does not define a normative set of properties.

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="">
<meta name="robots" content="">
<meta name="description" content="">
<meta name="keywords" content="">
<meta name="author" content="">

Attributes: content, dir, http-equiv, lang, name, scheme

• More information on META Elements

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NOFRAMES

Alternate content container for non frame based rendering. The NOFRAMES element specifies content that should be displayed only by user agents that do not support frames or are configured not to display frames. User agents that support frames must only display the contents of a NOFRAMES declaration when configured not to display frames. User agents that do not support frames must display the contents of NOFRAMES in any case.

<noframes></noframes>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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NOSCRIPT

Alternate content container for non script based rendering. The NOSCRIPT element allows authors to provide alternate content when a script is not executed. The content of a NOSCRIPT element should only be rendered by a script aware user agent.

<noscript></noscript>

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OBJECT

Generic Embedded Object: The OBJECT element allows authors to control whether data should be rendered externally or by some program, specified by the author, that renders the data within the user agent.

<object>
</object>

Attributes: align, archive, border, class, classid, codebase, codetype, data, declare, dir, height, hspace, id, lang, name, standby, style, tabindex, title, type, usemap, vspace, width

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H27: Providing text and non-text alternatives for object
• H53: Using the body of the object element

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OL

Ordered List: Ordered and unordered lists are rendered in an identical manner except that visual user agents number ordered list items. User agents may present those numbers in a variety of ways.

<ol>
<li></li>
</ol>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H48: Using ol, ul and dl for lists
• Further discussion about the OL Element at WebmasterWorld

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OPTGROUP

Option Group: The OPTGROUP element allows authors to group choices logically. This is particularly helpful when the user must choose from a long list of options; groups of related choices are easier to grasp and remember than a single long list of options. In HTML 4, all OPTGROUP elements must be specified directly within a SELECT element (i.e., groups may not be nested).

<optgroup label="">
<option></option>
</optgroup>

Attributes: class, dir, disabled, id, lang, multiple, name, size, style, tabindex, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H85: Using OPTGROUP to group OPTION elements inside a SELECT
• Further discussion about the OPTGROUP Element at WebmasterWorld

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OPTION

Selectable Choice: The SELECT element creates a menu. Each choice offered by the menu is represented by an OPTION element. A SELECT element must contain at least one OPTION element.

<select>
<option></option>
</select>

Attributes: class, dir, disabled, id, lang, multiple, name, size, style, tabindex, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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P

Paragraph: The P element represents a paragraph. It cannot contain block level elements.

<p></p>

Attributes: align, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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PARAM

Named Property Value: PARAM elements specify a set of values that may be required by an object at run-time. Any number of PARAM elements may appear in the content of an OBJECT or APPLET element, in any order, but must be placed at the start of the content of the enclosing OBJECT or APPLET element.

<object classid="">
<param name="" value="" valuetype="">
</object>

Attributes: id, name, type, value, valuetype

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PRE

Preformatted Text: The PRE element tells visual user agents that the enclosed text is "preformatted".

<pre></pre>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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Q

Short Inline Quotation: The BLOCKQUOTE and Q elements designate quoted text. BLOCKQUOTE is for long quotations (block level content) and Q is intended for short quotations (inline content) that don't require paragraph breaks.

<p>As <cite>Barack Obama</cite> said, <q>Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.</q></p>

Attributes: cite, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text
• H58: Using language attributes to identify changes in the human language
• Further discussion about the Q Element at WebmasterWorld

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SAMP

Sample: Program output, scripts, etc.

<samp></samp>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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SCRIPT

Script Statements: The SCRIPT element places a script within a document. This element may appear any number of times in the HEAD or BODY of an HTML document.

<script></script>

Attributes: charset, defer, language, src, type

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SELECT

Option Selector: The SELECT element creates a menu. Each choice offered by the menu is represented by an OPTION element. A SELECT element must contain at least one OPTION element.

<select>
<option></option>
</select>

Attributes: class, dir, disabled, id, lang, multiple, name, size, style, tabindex, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H84: Using a button with a select element to perform an action

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SMALL

Small Text Style: This is a font style element that renders text in a small font.

<small>Renders as small text.</small>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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SPAN

Generic Style Container: The DIV and SPAN elements, in conjunction with the id and class attributes, offer a generic mechanism for adding structure to documents. These elements define content to be inline (SPAN) or block level (DIV) but impose no other presentational idioms on the content.

<span></span>

Attributes: align, class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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STRONG

Strong Emphasis: This is a phrase element. Often misused and confused with the B element which is used for presentation and has no implicit meaning.

<strong>DO NOT USE</strong> the STRONG element for presentation, use the B element instead.

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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STYLE

Style Information: The STYLE element allows authors to put style sheet rules in the head of the document. HTML permits any number of STYLE elements in the HEAD section of a document.

<style type="text/css">
</style>

Attributes: dir, lang, media, title, type

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SUB, SUP

Subscript, Superscript: Many scripts (e.g., French) require superscripts or subscripts for proper rendering. The SUB and SUP elements should be used to markup text in these cases.

Example of <sup>^SUP</sup>
Example of <sub>_SUB</sub>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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TABLE

The TABLE element contains all other elements that specify caption, rows, content, and formatting.

<table>
</table>

Attributes: bgcolor, border, cellpadding, cellspacing, class, frame, id, lang, rules, style, summary, title, width

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H51: Using table markup to present tabular information
• H73: Using the summary attribute of the table element to give an overview of data tables

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TD

Table Data Cell: The TD element defines a cell that contains data.

<tr>
<td></td>
</tr>

Attributes: abbr, axis, colspan, header, height, nowrap, rowspan, scope, width

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TEXTAREA

Multiline Text Field: The TEXTAREA element creates a multi-line text input control. User agents should use the contents of this element as the initial value of the control and should render this text initially.

<textarea></textarea>

Attributes: class, cols, dir, disabled, id, lang, name, readonly, rows, style, tabindex, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onblur, onchange, onclick, ondblclick, onfocus, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup, onselect

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TH

Table Header Cell: The TH element defines a cell that contains header information. User agents have two pieces of header information available: the contents of the TH element and the value of the abbr attribute. User agents must render either the contents of the cell or the value of the abbr attribute.

<table summary="">
<caption></caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Attributes: abbr, axis, colspan, header, height, nowrap, rowspan, scope, width

• H43: Using id and headers attributes to associate data cells with header cells in data tables

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THEAD, TBODY, TFOOT

Table Header, Table Footer, Table Body: Table rows may be grouped into a table head, table foot, and one or more table body sections, using the THEAD, TFOOT and TBODY elements, respectively.

<table>
<thead>
<tr></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr></tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr></tr>
</tfoot>
</table>

Attributes: align, char, charoff, class, dir, id, lang, style, title, valign

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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TITLE

Document Title: Authors should use the TITLE element to identify the contents of a document. Since users often consult documents out of context, authors should provide context rich titles. The TITLE element resides in the <head></head> of your documents.

<title>HTML 4 SEO - Best Practices for HTML Authoring</title>

Attributes: dir, lang

• H25: Providing a title using the title element
• More information on the TITLE Element
• Further discussion about the TITLE Element at WebmasterWorld

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TR

Table Row: The TR elements act as a container for a row of table cells.

<tr>
<td></td>
</tr>

Attributes: align, bgcolor, char, charoff, class, dir, id, lang, style, title, valign

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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TT

Teletype: Renders as monospaced text style.

<tt>This is an example of text rendered using the TT element.</tt>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text

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UL

Unordered List: Ordered and unordered lists are rendered in an identical manner except that visual user agents number ordered list items. Unordered list items are not numbered.

<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

• H48: Using ol, ul and dl for lists
• Further discussion about the UL Element at WebmasterWorld

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VAR

Variable: Instance of a variable or program argument.

<var></var>

Attributes: class, dir, id, lang, style, title

Intrinsic Event Attributes: onclick, ondblclick, onkeydown, onkeypress, onkeyup, onmousedown, onmousemove, onmouseout, onmouseover, onmouseup

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References and Recommended Reading for SEOs

1. 2009-01-29 - WebmasterWorld.com: Semantic Data Extractor
   • 2009-01-28 - URIValet.com Release Version 1.22: Added Semantic Data Extractor Tool
2. 2009-01-05 - The Ultimate SEO Guide: On Page SEO Techniques
3. 2008-12-18 - WebmasterWorld.com: The Ultimate SEO Guide for 2009
4. 2008-12-11 - Techniques for WCAG 2.0: Techniques and Failures for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
5. 2008-12-06 - Jan Meiert: HTML Elements Index
6. 2008-11-12 - Google Webmaster Central: SEO Starter Guide
   • 2008-11-13 - Google SEO Starter Guide (.pdf)
7. 2005-12-01 - Google Code: Web Authoring Statistics
   • Pages and Elements
   • Elements and Attributes
8. 1999-12-24 - W3C Recommendation: HTML 4.01 Specification
   • Index of HTML Elements
   • Index of HTML Attributes
   • 7 The global structure of an HTML document
   • 9 Text
   • 10 Lists
   • 11 Tables
   • 12 Links
   • 13 Objects, Images, and Applets
   • 18 Scripts
     • 18.2.3 Intrinsic Events

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