Good SEO makes your website as visible and valuable to search engines as possible. This means that you should avoid any tactics that could get you penalized by Google (see the Google SEO guide).
We’ve already explored some of the villains posing as good guys out there, like the Thin Man, the Cloak, and the Blob.
Let’s introduce you to another one so you can recognize it and stay far away.
One of the biggest no-nos in SEO is hidden text and links.
We will discuss what hidden text and links are, why you should avoid them, and how to spot them on other websites.
What are Hidden Text and Links?
Hidden text and links are, quite simply, text that is not visible to website visitors.
Nefarious, black hat SEOs accomplish this by making the font color the same as the background color, using extremely small font sizes, or hiding text behind images.
Why You Should Avoid Hidden Text and Links
The main reason to avoid hidden text and links: Google considers them spam.
If Google catches you using these tactics, you could receive a penalty, namely, a drop in your search engine rankings.
Additionally, hidden text and links provide a poor user experience.
Your website visitors should easily locate and read the content on your site and navigate to any links within.
Some SEOs think that they can get away with this because users won’t see it anyway.
But, the fact is that Google’s crawlers will spot it and you could receive penalization for attempting to manipulate the search engine results.
How to Spot Hidden Text and Links on a Website
If you’re not sure whether a website uses hidden text or links, look for a few things.
First, check the source code.
If you see invisible text or links when you view the page, someone is hiding them.
You can also use a browser plugin like Ghostery to highlight any invisible elements on a page.
Finally, if you think a website might be using hidden text or links, you can always contact the SEO responsible for the content on your site.
If an SEO engages in these practices, they probably won’t prove very forthcoming. But, it never hurts to ask.
Hidden text and links do not provide long-term value to your content and subsequently, to your web/blog visitors, so keep them in your rear-view mirror at all times.
Stay safe out there and keep your content lifted up.
