HTML markup

The html markup of your site is customisable throughout, but by default you get some robust templates that Google will love.

Semantic HTML

By building the html of your onCourse site with a clear structure and meaning, search engines such as Google are able to make sense of the structure and meaning. onCourse comes with good html that gives you a good starting point. For example, each page should only have a single h1 element, sections, footer and other modern html elements.

Accessibility

Although this is not strictly an SEO benefit, adhering to accessibility standards means that students with disabilities such as poor sight will be able to access your website more easily. This goes hand in hand with good semantic HTML and also means that Google and other search engines will properly index your site and understand the content structure rather than just index a mass of words.

Schema.org

Schema.org is a set of markup rules endorsed by Google and other search engines. It specifies ways to annotate the html to give it specific meaning allowing Google to create rich search results. For example, we can markup data so that Google can provide navigation structure, course dates, prices and other information right in their search results.