Hidden Text

Webpages can contain text that search engines can read but is invisible to most Internet users. This is called Hidden Text. Hidden Text is a "black hat" SEO technique and is classified as Search Spam by search engines. Hidden Text can also include hidden links. The use of Hidden Text is not recommended by white hat SEO specialists. Search engines can decipher Hidden Text.

Hidden text may include long lists of keywords or keyword phrases that would clutter up a webpage (and in some cases may not even be relevant keywords). These lists of keywords (the Hidden Text) increase a webpage's search engine rankings, and bring in more web traffic. It may be possible to briefly manipulate search engines to increase rankings, but it is very risky. Using Hidden Text can get your website banned on all of the major search engines. In most cases, search engines will eventually catch Hidden Text, Hidden Links, and other incidences of search spam and keyword stuffing, and then websites will be promptly penalized.

There are several ways to create Hidden Text on a webpage. Some of these may be accidental, but if search engines catch you they won't ask questions. You'll get just get banned.

One way to create Hidden Text is by displaying keyword-stuffed text against a background of the same color (black text on a black background, for instance). Another common way of creating Hidden Text is to put text behind pictures or graphics (watch out… this can sometimes be accidental so check your formatting and code).

Text can be made into Hidden Text if it's displayed in too small a font to be readable (such as 0 pt.). Text also can be hidden using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Like other forms of hidden text, this is also considered Search Spam and is punishable by search engines.

Invisible or indecipherable links are also a type of Hidden Text that's classified as Search Spam. Links to other websites or pages may be hidden using the above techniques, or they can be set in such small text they show up only as a hyphen.