Hidden text that's not show in default view, does it hurt my on page optimization?

[Shawn124]

Hello,

I am developing our new site that will create tabs such as "design", "tech specs", "customer ratings" etc. just like http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15z-5523/pd.

My question is, if most of my content is on the 2nd and 3rd tabs, would my content effect my overall SEO if it's not on it's default view?

Because, if users don't physically click on the 2nd and 3rd tab, does it mean that since there is no impression of that content, that content will be allocated to half of its SEO juice?

Let me know, I would love to know!

• Shawn

[jws8118]

It depends on how you are coding it?  Can you paste some sample code?

[Mike.Goracke]

Hi Shawn,

Google does not look at page content the same way humans do. Google is more concerned about you providing a good experience for your users. I believe that using tabs, if coded correctly, is one way of providing good experience and additional information.

If you view this text only version of the dell.com page you referenced, you will see how Google is viewing that page - there are no tabs, simply text and hyperlinks.

As far as SEO is concerned, it used to be the goal to put all of your important content, above the fold; however, that is not as important as it once was.

If you Google: site:www.dell.com Native HD 1.0 MP webcam with dual digital array microphone, you can see that the Inspiron 15z Ultrabook appears in one of results. This text is on the Tech Specs tab and is still being indexed by Google.

Long story short - Google "should" (depending on the way you set up your tabs) be able to crawl, index, and rank your page when you use content on tabs.

Does that answer your question?

Mike

[Shawn124]

That definitely helps Mike. My content is above the fold and I'm going to privately message you my development site so you can check.  Thank you so much!

[Shawn124]

Just DM'ed you James.  Thanks in advance!

[Mike.Goracke]

http://www.seo-browser.com

That does a decent job - I was able to see your tabbed content in the example URL you PM'd me.

Really the final test is going to be testing it once your page is live and indexed by Google.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[TextMarketing]

It's all about the way the page is coded. Most tabs use JavaScript but many of them will simple add a display:none; style tag on the hidden content which is bad. That basically tells Google, that you're not planning to show this content to users even though you may. In return, that content won't give you much "SEO juice" because it's hidden.

Even though this topic is controversial, I have ran some tests that show that when all the content is visible at once, you'll get more "SEO juice" from the content.

hope this helps!

[Shawn124]

Extremely helpful.

I'm good now

[RicardoLG]

I don't know if that really matters but I prefer to use z-index to show tabs using css instead of display:none. It makes more sense for me that the tab is under the other, but still there, then just say that it is hidden