The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • My Q&A
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Q&A Forum
    2. Categories
    3. Technical SEO Issues
    4. Are all tabs the result of JS?

    Are all tabs the result of JS?

    Technical SEO Issues
    4 2 49
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • SwanseaMedicine
      SwanseaMedicine last edited by

      Hey all,

      Bit of a novice here, so bare with me. We have a page that has a lot of content in a tabular format that struggles to rank. I created a similar page, without the tabular format, which vastly outranks it, despite having a miniscule backlink profile in comparison.

      Now, I've always been under the impression that anything interactive on a website, like tabs, are the result of JS. However, I can't see any JS in the code (but as mentioned, I'm far from an expert). Code below.

      Description

      insert copy here, click on [insert anchor text](/media/MODULES AVAILABLE 2017-18.xlsx)
      more copy here.

      Anyone able to shed any light?

      Cheers,

      Rhys

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Roman-Delcarmen
        Roman-Delcarmen last edited by

        Google will not treat content that is concealed behind tabs, accordions, or any other element where JavaScript is used to reveal content, in the same way as content that is visible as standard. However, it will still be indexed, so pages may rank for search phrases related to content contained within the hidden sections.

        Why does Google devalue hidden content?

        Google’s focus is on ensuring that the user experience within its search results is as good as possible. If the algorithm gave full weight to content hidden using JavaScript, this could be compromised.

        For example, say a user searches for a term that is matched on a page but only in the hidden section. The user then clicks the search result to go through to that page but can’t immediately see the information they’re looking for because it’s hidden. They give up and return to the search results or head to another website.

        This, in Google’s assessment, would not be a high quality user experience and the content within the hidden sections is therefore down-weighted.

        In Summary

        • Hiding content within tabs, accordions, or other elements that rely on JavaScript to reveal it to users is likely to be treated differently by Google, and assigned far less importance
        • Websites, therefore, must take a considered approach and use this method only to hide content that is of secondary importance to the primary topic of the page, or that covers related topics
        SwanseaMedicine 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • SwanseaMedicine
          SwanseaMedicine @Roman-Delcarmen last edited by

          What a brilliant response. Thanks, Roman!

          Roman-Delcarmen 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Roman-Delcarmen
            Roman-Delcarmen @SwanseaMedicine last edited by

            You are Welcome, thanks for your comments

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • 1 / 1
            • First post
              Last post
            • Why is my entire page appearing as a video result (and only a video result)?
              TucsonAZWebDesign
              TucsonAZWebDesign
              0
              3
              28

            • How much of an issue is JS?
              davebuts
              davebuts
              0
              5
              59

            • Omitted results
              Poptafic
              Poptafic
              0
              6
              664

            • Not Indexing Text in Tabs
              JaneCopland
              JaneCopland
              0
              3
              92

            • Search results indexed
              RobertFisher
              RobertFisher
              0
              5
              110

            • Crawl Results
              sherohass
              sherohass
              0
              5
              132

            • Google instant results different to results shown when press enter
              OffSightIT
              OffSightIT
              0
              3
              210

            • No results with Link Analysis
              KeriMorgret
              KeriMorgret
              0
              7
              602

            Get started with Moz Pro!

            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

            Start my free trial
            Products
            • Moz Pro
            • Moz Local
            • Moz API
            • Moz Data
            • STAT
            • Product Updates
            Moz Solutions
            • SMB Solutions
            • Agency Solutions
            • Enterprise Solutions
            • Digital Marketers
            Free SEO Tools
            • Domain Authority Checker
            • Link Explorer
            • Keyword Explorer
            • Competitive Research
            • Brand Authority Checker
            • Local Citation Checker
            • MozBar Extension
            • MozCast
            Resources
            • Blog
            • SEO Learning Center
            • Help Hub
            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
            • How-to Guides
            • Moz Academy
            • API Docs
            About Moz
            • About
            • Team
            • Careers
            • Contact
            Why Moz
            • Case Studies
            • Testimonials
            Get Involved
            • Become an Affiliate
            • MozCon
            • Webinars
            • Practical Marketer Series
            • MozPod
            Connect with us

            Contact the Help team

            Join our newsletter
            Moz logo
            © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
            • Accessibility
            • Terms of Use
            • Privacy