Fading Text Links Look Like Spammy Hidden Links to a g-bot?

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Ah, Hello Mozzers, it's been a while since I was here.

Wanted to run something by you...

I'm looking to incorporate some fading text using Javascript onto a site homepage using the method described here;

http://blog.thomascsherman.com/2009/08/text-slideshow-or-any-content-with-fades/

so, my question is; does anyone think that Google might see this text as a possible dark hat SEO anchor text manipulation (similar to hidden links)?

The text will contain various links (4 or 5) that will cycle through one another, fading in and out, but to a bot the text may appear initially invisible, like so;

style="display: none;"><a href="">Link Here</a>

All links will be internal.

My gut instinct is that I'm just being stupid here, but I wanted to stay on the side of caution with this one!

Thanks for your time

http://blog.thomascsherman.com/2009/08/text-slideshow-or-any-content-with-fades

[RobMay]

Not sure why you would want to use this technique on a 'navigation'? It's not great from a user experience perspective. I would use something like this for 'text rotation' on things like testimonials, or reviews to keep fresh content loaded to the domain (switching it up every few days).. I wouldn't use this for navigation on a site.

Just my observation. Cheers!

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Rob,

You're right, it's rubbish for navigation, but it's what is required in this instance.

There's 'real' navigation as well, this is just a feed to catch the visitor's eye and throw up new pages or content that might be of interest.

Thanks

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Anyone?

[Dr-Pete]

Using display:none on content can be a bit hard to predict. When it's something clear, like tabbed navigation, it's usually ok (and Google is getting a lot better about it). When it's something unusual, Google's guesses about what you're trying to do aren't always great. The actual color-change JS is probably fine, but this could look like hidden text, given the initial setting. For 4-5 links, it may not matter, but given that the benefits are dubious at best (I agree about it being pretty awful for usability), I wouldn't personally take the risk.

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Dr. Pete

Good to see your face in here

Thanks for confirming my worst suspicions! I'll be staying clear of that method then.

It's use was essentially just to flash up a short text decription and a link to new site content (to fit in a fairly small space), like a news ticker.

Do you think a javascript style news ticker, like the one at the top here would be better?

http://sandbox.scriptiny.com/contentslider/slider.html

It removes the need to set style="display: none;" however, some text starts off outside of the "news ticker" limits and so is technically invisible to begin with.

Thanks again.

[Dr-Pete]

I should add that there are sites that hide links without trouble, but it's usually in very standardized places (dropdown menus, for example).

The ticker probably is a bit safer. I wouldn't load it up with links, but at least the behavior is more like tabbed content - you're showing chunks of content at a time. I'm worried that the combo of hidden text and color change on the other approach is just going to set off alarms.

[PeterAlexLeigh]

Yes, that seems a fair point.

I'll go ahead with the ticker and hope for the best!

Thanks for your help on this one.