Source Code
The source code is a computer program which is converted into a machine language that is read by a machine and compiled in image and function. The HTML code of a website is also called source code. Source code is an important part of SEO because it determines the correct execution of a webpage and gives information about possible optimization potential. Source code optimization is therefore part of technical SEO.
Source code for web pages
While the source code is the backbone of a computer program for programmers, it is an important area for online marketers which is not visible to regular users. SEO errors can be detected and fixed in the source code. The source code also contains important additional information about a website. By analyzing the source code, you can, for example, easily find hidden links. Moreover, the source code contains important information about the CMS being used, markup or meta data such as meta description or meta title in the Dublin Core. Canonical tags and content of a website are visible in the source code. Tracking codes for marketing purposes can also be found in the source code.
Special web analysis programs, compilers, and browsers can be used to read the source code of a website. Browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Edge have a simple function with which the page source code can be displayed. Usually the web source code is distributed over several lines.
Relevance to SEO
Correct execution of the source code of a web page can be counted among the ranking factors of search engines like Google. A defective source code can result in reduced functionality of a website and therefore a downgrade in ranking. The text-to-code ratio is also useful for on-page optimization.
Source code optimization is also important for reducing the loading time of a website. Since the loading time is regarded as a ranking factor, the optimization of the source code is necessary for this reason. A lean source code also enables crawlers to find and index content more quickly. Thus, they require less time to crawl a single page and crawl depth can be increased. In general, the simpler the source code of a website, the faster bots like Googlebot can crawl the page.