Hi there! Ofcourse we all know to that, Google doesn't like hiding any parts of page elements and documents, but there can be the other reasons of use 'hidden' style, not only spamming the search engine (it was created for something at least...). So, do you think is this possible 'visibility:hidden' style in "legal" way, to do not induce a ban in Google?
Using visibility:hidden is not going to automatically get you penallized. There are many valid reasons for using that setting, such as drop-down menus or mouse-over pop-up messages in wiki's, and many quality sites that use it without any problem whatsoever. I don't believe Google's automated scanning systems check for it, anyway, since Googlebot rarely crawls external .css files where this information would so often be located. I suspect the only way to get penalized is for you to actually be trying to stuff some keyword-rich content into a page and either be reported by someone or caught by a random sample review by a Google employee. So if you'd be comfortable explaining your usage to Google, you're perfectly safe.
Its not going to result in a ban. The worst that will happen is the hidden keywords won't be taken into account when ranking your page.
Thanks for your answers. I think this same, just I was unsure - that's why I'm asking. But this means that the google people qualify what is legal/illegal usage of 'hidden' parameter and there is no automatic routine (bot ot something...) which removes all sites where this solution is found. Greetz
Googles goal is to find the hidden text and make sure it doesn't affect the serps. When Google do find hidden text (like when you report a site to them for spamming) they don't immediately ban the site, they just adjust the algo to make sure it can detect the hidden text in the future.
Well, actually, If you have hidden text in your page. Filled with keywords which people cannot but crawlers can see. And then someone tells on you. You are bound to get a message from, or lose your index on google. I don't know about the other search engines.
Have you ever reported a website to Google for hidden text and seen them get banned for it? I haven't.
I dislike webmaster world for doing that. The blurb is great, but as soon as you click into the site it gives you a buy a registration now page. Pierce
Wordpress is one favourite example. Wordpress.com got banned for a few days from google because they were spamming their own pages. Google it.
I think it can get you flagged for 'manual review' which can get you banned if it is found to be used for something wrong.. but thats just what I feel.