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The position of a website in search results is affected by many of its technical and content elements, which should be verified at the stage of conducting a comprehensive SEO audit, even before the start of positioning activities. One such important element to check, which is both a part of technical and content optimization is the ratio of content to page code.
What is content to page code ratio?
The text to code ratio – THR) is the ratio between the literal content of the page (what is visible to the user) and the amount of HTML code.
The content of the page, which is taken into account in determining the ratio to the amount of HTML code, consists of such elements as textual content, images, graphics, video or animation. HTML code, on the other hand, is, of course, the source code of the page that allows all content elements to be displayed.
Which tools can be used to check the ratio of content to page code?
The content-to-page-code ratio is always checked for the SEO audit we are conducting, as it is one of the factors affecting a site’s search engine visibility. There are, of course, tools that present us with this score for the site we indicate.
One such tool is Webspeed from Inensys Tools, which in general is a tool to analyze the technical elements of a site that affect its speed and loading time. However, in the analysis of a site using it, the value of the content-to-code ratio of a given site, expressed as a percentage, appears.
Another example of a tool, may be the Text to code ratio checker from Godzio Link, which is dedicated to verifying only this specific parameter and which additionally shows us how much content and html code is specifically present on our site.
Simple text to code ratio checkers also have on their sites many agencies that specialize in SEO and offer free SEO audits.
What content-to-code ratio of a site can be considered good, and what is bad?
It is assumed that a correct content-to-code ratio is one above 15%, but some sources say 20%. It will be safer not to aim for this lower result, and if the tools show us a result below 20%, it is worth taking an interest in what causes such a state of affairs and consider optimizing the site in this direction.
What could be the reasons for the low content-to-code ratio of the site and how can it be increased?
If during a professional SEO audit we verify that the content-to-code ratio of a page is low, there may be essentially two reasons for this – too little content posted on the page or too much code for the size of a given website.
The solution to the first problem is quite simple – create more content of value to the user, supplementing it with keywords and attractive visual elements like photos, graphics or video.
Definitely more problematic is the second cause, as fixing it already requires technical knowledge and programming skills. The reasons for too much code can be really many, the main ones include code errors and code overwriting in uncontrolled amounts. Excessive amounts of code can also be generated by some analytical tools and plug-ins installed from the CMS of a given website.
In case of a low THR score, we should analyze our site’s code to rule out any possible reasons for its excessive growth and prevent it in the future.
Why is the ratio of content to site code important in SEO?
The content-to-code ratio is important in SEO primarily because it allows us to quickly diagnose whether our site has too little content. The quantity and quality of content present on a page is one of the most important ranking factors, and it is mainly based on it that Google determines positions in organic search results. Therefore, if we have realistically too little of it our positioning will not bring any meaningful results.
A very low content-to-code ratio can also indicate technical problems on our site that may contribute to lowering its position, so it is a signal clearly indicating to us the need for an audit.
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She has 11 years of professional experience, she started her career at the Emarketing Experts agency as a junior SEO specialist. In addition to website positioning, she was responsible for conducting 360° marketing projects as an Account Manager at They.pl. She worked for companies from the financial sector (Bank Millennium, Bank Meritum, Finai S.A.) and e-commerce (e.g. Black Red White, Autoland, Mumla). At Up&More, he is responsible for, among others, SEO projects for Panek Car Sharing, Amerigas, Interparking, H+H and Autoplaza.