Horizontal Content Optimization
A common approach to content optimization on a Web page is to start at the beginning of the Web page code and work through the code, a top-down approach. Then each tag or Web page element is of consideration for optimization with the aim of reflecting the Web page content and topic.
The major search engines are much better at understanding Web page content and the context of Web page elements. Web users skim the Web page they are visiting trying to find what they are looking for that might interest them. The major search engines and Web users use similar approach in understanding content even though one party is software and the other a human being. Therefore, content optimization that is good for the Web user might also be very favorable for search engine optimization.
A good approach in optimizing for search engines and Web users might be what we call horizontal content optimization. Examples of horizontal content optimization is looking at certain content section of a Web page and make sure the text, graphic, headings and semantic meaning of tags reflects the topic or meaning of the section.
Potential candidates for horizontal content optimization are for example 4-6 level headings and Alt tags. The data below shows the number of meaningful words in Alt tags also found in heading tags level 1-6 for data obtained from two large samples.
| Alt Words in Heading: General Web Sites | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observed Element | % Found | Average | Min | Max | Median | 80 Percentile Range | |
| Alt Words in H1 | 3.78 | 14.15 | 1.00 | 194.00 | 22.17 | 3.00 - 43.32 | |
| Alt Words in H2 | 3.94 | 5.01 | .00 | 37.00 | 3.00 | .83 - 16.83 | |
| Alt Words in H3 | 3.63 | 8.58 | 1.00 | 73.00 | 4.83 | 1.33 - 33.48 | |
| Alt Words in H4 | 1.37 | 6.17 | .00 | 61.00 | 4.67 | 2.83 - 15.17 | |
| Alt Words in H5 | .83 | 11.14 | .00 | 120.00 | 15.00 | 2.67 - 24.50 | |
| Alt Words in H6 | .30 | 7.00 | .00 | 28.00 | 7.00 | 5.00 - 9.00 | |
| Alt Words in Heading: Web Sites in SE Positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observed Element | % Found | Average | Min | Max | Median | 80 Percentile Range | |
| Alt Words in H1 | 5.00 | 6.65 | 1.00 | 39.00 | 5.57 | 1.71 - 16.63 | |
| Alt Words in H2 | 5.80 | 5.28 | 1.00 | 64.00 | 2.86 | 1.14 - 16.69 | |
| Alt Words in H3 | 4.05 | 6.90 | 1.00 | 43.00 | 6.86 | 3.00 - 13.13 | |
| Alt Words in H4 | 2.44 | 5.98 | .00 | 25.00 | 3.86 | 2.29 - 10.29 | |
| Alt Words in H5 | 1.36 | 27.43 | 1.00 | 163.00 | 27.29 | 25.57 - 29.29 | |
| Alt Words in H6 | .55 | 1.71 | .00 | 12.00 | 1.57 | 1.29 - 2.29 | |
According to the above data, it is not very common to connect the heading tag text with the Alt tags, but of the two samples, it is more likely to occur with Web sites in prominent search engine positions. Whether this show there is room for optimization is arguable.
Related links:
