Can someone define 'invisible text' to me please?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by Eli B, Aug 24, 2007.

  1. #1
    Can someone tell me exactly what 'invisible text' (to SE's) is and what the effects of it are?

    What I want to know is, is the text invisible if it's the same color as the background, or if it's the same color as the <div> it's inside of?

    My links could be considered as invisible since they're the same color as the background, but their inside of a container which has a white background...

    Thanks in advance, and I hope I've got the right section here.
     
    Eli B, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  2. bullzeye

    bullzeye Guest

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    #2
    any content which is made invisible to the user on the web page is invisible text.. SE's dont like that at all n ur site may get banned for using black hat tech.
     
    bullzeye, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  3. Angelus

    Angelus Well-Known Member

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    #3
    White text on white background for example :)

    p.l.u.r.
     
    Angelus, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  4. qazu

    qazu Well-Known Member

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    #4
    If you open the page in a browser, and you can't see the text, then it is invisible text or hidden text.

    If it's the same color as the page background but is in a <div> with a different background color, and you can see it when you open the page in a browser, then it's ok.
     
    qazu, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  5. magda

    magda Notable Member

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    #5
    If you intend the visitors to your site to see the links and be able to use them, (and they can) then it's not a problem.
     
    magda, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  6. sparksflying

    sparksflying Peon

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    #6
    Hi ,

    another method you can use is via css , you can hide text from a browser , but show to a search engine spider..

    This was once an acceptable way of doing things but have come across this on Matt Cutts site: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-mistakes-unwise-comments/ who tells you its bad bad bad to hide using seo as Google spiders are starting to spider the css file also....

    Im not sure if this is live but beware!
     
    sparksflying, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  7. heinlein99

    heinlein99 Peon

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    #7
    This is invisible text.
     
    heinlein99, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  8. sparksflying

    sparksflying Peon

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    #8
    lol heinlein99.. I got the thread update to my email and wondered what you were on about :)
     
    sparksflying, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  9. Kuldeep1952

    Kuldeep1952 Active Member

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    #9
    Invisible text is what appears invisible to the user. SEs maynot be able to detect all invisible text yet, but they are improving. They also have the benefit of reporting by visitors/rivals.
     
    Kuldeep1952, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  10. Eli B

    Eli B Peon

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    #10
    That the best you could do? ;) I could still read it. Thanks for the replies everyone!
     
    Eli B, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  11. Hersheys

    Hersheys Peon

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    #11
    Sites can be penalized if SE find out that the site is using invisible text.
     
    Hersheys, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  12. kirby009

    kirby009 Peon

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    #12
    this is when you colour your text the same as the back ground
     
    kirby009, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  13. trichnosis

    trichnosis Prominent Member

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    #13
    Invisible text is the method of inserting hidden, usually keyword-heavy, text in the body of a Web page by making the text the same color as the page's background, rendering the text invisible to the user, unless the text is highlighted. Albeit less obvious than regular keyword stuffing, invisible text is still perceived as spamming and the technique therefore is not recommended as a means to improve search engine rankings.
     
    trichnosis, Aug 24, 2007 IP
  14. jnash

    jnash Peon

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    #14
    invisible text is text the same color as the background of the page but can be seen by right clicking and selecting all.
     
    jnash, Aug 25, 2007 IP
  15. mamina

    mamina Active Member

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    #15
    This is not ENTIRELY true. Using Z-Order with CSS can make things visible and invisible (great for doing flyout navigation, etc...).

    More accurately... it is the tactic (and an old one at that) of making the text color the same as the background color to ''trick'' the user into believing there is nothing there and smothering a page with keywords.

    Search engines have caught onto this and you will end up getting banned for doing this. Although I in no way advicate doing such things... there are ways to still do this without being caught... none of which I will bring up in this forum.
     
    mamina, Aug 25, 2007 IP
  16. heinlein99

    heinlein99 Peon

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    #16
    Rats, that would have worked a lot better if the background were white.

    The use of invisible text is basically to show something different to actual human visitors, vs. what software bots might see. A page full of spammy links to other sites can be made beautiful by making the links invisible.

    But yeah, this is considered bad form by the big G, yo.
     
    heinlein99, Aug 25, 2007 IP
  17. devat

    devat Peon

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    #17
    hi

    invisible text or hidden text apply ur sites then spider is not like and ur sites gone in banned

    thanks
     
    devat, Aug 27, 2007 IP
  18. bullzeye

    bullzeye Guest

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    #18
    U r right & even i know abt Z-order.. n making the sub levels invisible n al those stuff in CSS for navigation flyouts... There ur intention is not black hat but a clean SE friendly navigation but wat i meant is making text invisible even in CSS with the intention to cheat the SE crawlers i.e wat i called as "black hat" :)
     
    bullzeye, Aug 27, 2007 IP