How to View Source for SEO – Viewing the HTML Source Code

HTML is the “code” that lies underneath all websites. It’s important for web design, but also for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). People thus often ask me, “How do I view Source for a website?” It’s not hard. Let’s investigate.

Video: How to View Source for SEO – Viewing the HTML Source Code

 


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WHY VIEW SOURCE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

First, you need to know the why. HTML is the root code to any website, and the major tags such as the TITLE TAG, META DESCRIPTION TAG, and A HREF or ANCHOR tag provide clues to Google as to what a web page is about, that is what its keyword targets are. HTML communicates not only to the browser but also to Google! Thus, as good SEO’s, we need and want to be able to peer into our competition. Viewing source is one way to do this.  (I’m going to use one of my favorite SEO-friendly Pages (https://www.allstate.com/motorcycle-insurance.aspx) for this exercise.



VIEWING ALL THE SOURCE CODE

Second, there are a few easy methods. Generally, I just “right click” with my mouse and then select “view source.” That’s the easiest way and it works on all browsers – Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Sometimes you do need to move around to find a nice, blank space for this. Alternatively, CTRL+U (on a PC) or COMMAND+U (on a Mac) will also get you to the source code.  You can then analyze the source code for your SEO purposes by looking for key tags.



INSPECT ELEMENT

Third, another good trick is to hover over some text or a graphic and then “Right click” but rather than selecting view source, try “inspect element.” This doesn’t always work. If the “Force is with you,” then it will zero into your source code and show you precisely the element you were looking at visually with the Browser.

Good luck!

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About Jason McDonald

Jason McDonald is a top-rated San Francisco SEO Consultant. His consulting services include search engine optimization consulting, social media marketing consulting, and Google AdWords consulting. Jason's motto as a consultant is that he doesn't do SEO 'for you' but rather he does SEO 'with you.' That goes as well for his social media marketing consultant activities and Google AdWords consultant services. Besides serving clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jason consults with clients in Silicon Valley (San Jose), Oakland and other cities throughout the Bay Area. Beyond the Bay Area, Jason is available as an SEO consultant, Social Media Consultant, and as an expert witness in litigation involving social media marketing, search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising.