W3C is a tool which goes through a webpage and shows different errors which might be present in it. This is a free tool and the main function of this tool is in helping to weed out coding errors from a webpage. There are mixed opinions on whether W3C validation is important or not.
The W3C Validation does not affect search engine ranking. Matt Cutts from Google has already said that Google does not consider W3C validation for their search engine ranking. There are various reasons why using W3C validation for search engines can be tough. Primary job of search engines is to provide accurate search results. So if a search engine does not consider a website (having relevant content) in its search results just because it does not satisfy a standard, then the whole purpose of search engine will be lost. Also it would take a lot of time to load a website if search engines start validating a website. The bigger a website more time it takes for validation.W3C validation does not ensure that all browser compatibility issues can be removed. This means even after spending considerable time in making a website W3C compliant, there is no guarantee that a webpage will turn out perfect across various browsers. This is another reason why Google does not consider W3C validation for its search engine ranking. There are many websites including many top rank websites who do not have a W3C validation for their website. In fact many search engines themselves do not have W3C validation.
Having said that, W3C validation does help in making a website clean. It helps to eliminate human errors while coding.W3C validation leads to a faster, leaner code with better use of semantics. And all these are the criteria which search engines like Google consider before coming up with search ranking. Clean website means that search engine spiders will not get confused by unnecessary coding; they can easily crawl and explore a website without any hindrance. Having a code with error can turn out to be an unpleasant experience for your customers as the pages may not load correctly in a web browser. W3C tool can sometimes help in finding defects which can turn out to be a major problem for your website later. So even if 100% compliance may not be necessary, W3C tool can be used to look into various errors and remove the ones which can cause much impact on your website’s overall performance. You also need to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing before deciding on whether or not to opt for W3C validation. It may so happen that you are in such a field where all the major websites do have a W3C validation, then in that case it will be a good idea to get one yourself too.
W3C validation complements your other outsource SEO efforts like directory submission, article directory submission, blog writing and submission, social bookmarking, PR writing and submission etc. that help rank your website better with the search engines.
