Are Tables Bad For SEO?

There has been a long running web design argument that starts with tables being outdated and ends with some stating that tables are bad for SEO. Are they right? Frankly, I think it’s a storm in a teacup.

The alternative to tables is the use of DIV statements. They work in a way that is similar to tables. One argument is that DIV statements need to be formatted using CSS. That argument falls down since tables can also be formatted using CSS.

Tables have the benefit of being able to be written and formatted on the fly, without the use of CSS. The downside is that some browsers have problems rendering tables – particularly when using fluid width pages. Tables in fixed width pages do not present so much of a problem.

Tables per-se are not ‘bad’ for SEO. In fact, tables are the easiest and often best way to present tabulated data. Using tables to divide a page into data areas is not the best idea. That is where browsers do have issues. The use of DIVs was never meant to replace tables and data presentation. CSS and DIVs are designed to help a web designer allocate page space to various parts of a web page.

Use tables wisely. For example, for the presentation of data and you won’t have a problem. Use DIVs when designing your web pages so that browsers find it easier to render. The two actually work together very well if your web design is well planned.