An Overview of Content Hiding

An Overview of Content Hiding You've spent countless hours and have created the perfect content for your Web site and uploaded it online. You've researched and employed all the right techniques to optimize your site for Internet search engines. What's to stop your competitors from viewing your HTML code, seeing why you are being rated so highly and simply copying you?

To avoid this problem and to allow you to hide your term boosting from the eyes of the general Web site visitor, there are some simple techniques that you can use to hide your content. Several options, including text hiding, link hiding, META refresh tags and encryption. Hiding content may involve using a font colour that is the same as the background colour, hiding text behind an image, placing content above the viewable area of the browser or shrinking content or setting your font size to 0. There are also several scripts that can be used to hide your source code and you can password protect your pages.

**Although there are legitimate reasons to hide content, hidden text or links can cause a site to be perceived as untrustworthy.**

Content hiding comes with the warning that search engine directories frown on this type of SEO and you may be banned from registering on them or have your ranking reduced severely if you employ these techniques. Robots that are used to crawl through Web sites tend to be less sensitive to text and link hiding, however even these crawlers use human Web site auditors who randomly select sites to check.

Search engine directories, which are maintained by humans, rather than automatic software, tend to look to intent of the web designer. These human copyreaders or editors administer strict rules to appraise the quality and relevance of a web page. If there is intent to deceive, artificially inflate your SE ranking or to attract clicks at the expense of a poor user experience, then you may be removed from an index or have your ranking reduced. A simple and useful test that human copyreaders ask and webmasters should incorporate is, "Does this help the user?"

Although there is the possibility of penalty, the benefits may be worth the risks. So if it is a method you feel very passionate about then you should pursue the idea carefully and only employ content hiding techniques when you have a professional designer working on your website so that they can avoid any misunderstood intent.

About the Author:

Samuel Blankson is the author of Search Engine Optimization - How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines, your singular source for all your Web site marketing and SEO information. Samuel is a serial entrepreneur who has learned, through trial and error, how to successfully maintain high search engine rankings, and get lots of visitors. Go here to find out more www.practicalbooks.org/lp/se.htm

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