Does An SEO Need to Know HTML?

That is the question being asked at a Search Engine Watch Forums thread. And to that extent, "How much HTML do I need to know first for SEO?" Most of the replies in the thread are adamant that HTML is a prerequisite to SEO.

SEOMike said;

html is the foundation to SEO. The first thing I do when I work on a site is go through and make sure the html is solid and that the site is accessable to the SE's.

Like a bad foundation for a house, if it's cracked or shifting you cannot build anything stable on top of it.

Ian McAnerin said;

n my experience, about 60% of all difficulties in rankings are due to technical issues with coding or hosting/DNS.

Therefore, if you do not know enough to troubleshoot these two areas, you are only able to do about 40% of your job.

I agree, a fundamental understanding and working knowledge of HTML is very important for one to perform their SEO Work.

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.