Will a CSS Overflow Scroll for content affect SEO rankings?

[moliver1022]

If I use a CSS overflow scroll for copy, will my SEO rankings be affected? Will Google still be able to index my copy accurately and will keywords used in the copy that are covered by the scroll be recognized by Google?

[Highland]

As long as the text isn't hidden it will be indexed properly. It doesn't matter how you display it on the screen.

[moliver1022]

Thanks for the response Highland! Could you clarify "hidden?" Thanks again!

[gazzerman1]

OK so here is the deal, I have spoken with Google's John Mueller about this multiple times.

Your content will indeed be indexed, however Google bot is not as basic as many people think, there are multiple things happening when the bots come to look at your site, one of them is related to the humming bird algorithm. The bot takes a snapshot of what is actually visible on the page and will give THAT content more preference in search. It will also look what is above the fold for customers. So it is advisable to not have a large logo at the top and for some content to be visible without scrolling.

So just because some content is not visible does not mean it will not be indexed but it may be given far less weight than text that is immediately visible.

I hope that answers your question?

[moliver1022]

Thanks!

[Highland]

Hidden means the text will never be shown to an end user under any circumstances. It could be in a div with "display:none" as its style, or white text on a white background.