Question - Hidden Content via 'Read More;'

[qlkasdjfw]

Hi,

Does having text in hidden areas (that are expandable with a button) harm their value in SEO?

E.g. there are 'read more' areas on the homepage of this site that have content that is not accessible otherwise. Does this content have the same weight when it is hidden versus if this whole area was visible?

http://goo.gl/QQvAZ

[NakulGoyal]

In my opinion, 100% visible is better. So yes, you are on the right track. The concern that you have in your head that lead you to this question is right. It does not carry the same weight. If I were you, I would display it all and/or highlight the important areas of the content using some creative design techniques. Think SEO, but also think about the user. Would they really read all the content. Highlight the important/keypoints for them to see.

I hope this helps.

[qlkasdjfw]

Great feedback. I always like to think of the search engine as a person.

[PracticeFusion]

I don't think hiding the text the way you have harms their SEO value since the content is still readily available in the HTML of the page.

However, with that being said, from the perspective of a new visitor to your site, it seems a bit strange to have to click a "read more" link to read more of the welcome section. Doesn't seem very welcoming :).

[ypl]

Thanks for the question and responses.

I just love all the answers and responses from SEOmoz - they are real world questions and you get real time quality response.  It is so helpful for small business.

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Google is pretty clear on hidden text:

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66353

In practice, it's pretty common to "organize" text using CSS or Javascript in a way that sometimes hides it from the user.

In your case, since your intention is not to deceive search engines, but to enhance user experience, one option would be to include the "read more" via javascript, and then include the same text in a <no script="">tag.</no>

Keep in mind, Google will read this as html text on the page, and often in the same position as you place it on the page. So if you place several paragraphs of text in a no script tag towards the top of the page... ask yourself is this is how you want Google to view your homepage.

As long as you follow Google's guidelines, and are careful to make your text accessible, you should be fine.