<b> versus <strong>

[Sanya d]

Hi,
Both the above appear to do the same thing to text on a web page.
Have I misunderstood their use?
Do Search engines view them differently?
Thanks

[clairegrrl]

<i> - Strictly a presentational element.
If you want text to be italicized and not have any real semantic meaning, then wrap it in <i></i>.

<b> - Strictly a presentational element.
If you want text to be bold and not have any real semantic meaning, then wrap it in <b></b>.

<em> - Strictly a structure element.
If you want text to be spoken with emphasis using a speech reader, then wrap it in <em></em>.

<strong> - Strictly a structure element.
If you want text to be spoken with strong emphasis using a speech reader, then wrap it in <strong></strong>.


or so I've read

[REW Fergus]

<b> and <i> tags are a hold over from the bad old days when HTML tried to be both a structural language and a presentational one. Nowadays, the best practice is to use CSS for presentational information and HTML for content and structural information.

As Claire points out, <b> and <i> are presentational. I strongly recommend you don't use them.

[AgentServer.net]

Last time I checked the search engines still use the <b> and the <strong> for the ranking calculations.

Sanya,

<b> & <strong> will have the same effect in the search engines, you can use which ever one your prefer.

They have a very small effect in rankings so try not to be excessive in their use. Having said that I do suggest you use them.