ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How Hidden Text is Used to Gain Page Rank and Why NOT to Use It

Updated on March 14, 2013
Image compliments of www.blackhatseo.com
Image compliments of www.blackhatseo.com

Introduction to Black Hat SEO

This is the second part in my series about BLACK HAT SEO Techniques and practices. In today's article I will discuss Hidden Text / Invisible Text; its benefits and its failures when it comes to achieving Search Engine Optimization Results.

If you aren't familiar with SEO or "Black Hat", I suggest going back and reading PART 1. Don't Worry, you'll be directed right back here when you finish!

What is Hidden / Invisible Text?

Invisible Text is exactly what is sounds like; text that can't be seen by a visitor but is strategically placed on a website to gain access to keywords.

Hidden Text is a very basic concept. If your site has a white background you come up with a list of keywords and place them in the content (and sidebar) in white. If your background is red you make the keyword invisible text red.

Of course the keywords can still be seen when highlighted, but will likely go undetected to traffic, but the bots that crawl sites will find them (to your advantage).

How Text is "Hidden"

Hidden Text can be found with a simple highlight. The Hidden text is created using the same color as the background of the page; so if the page background is white, the text will also be white. If the background is yellow, the hidden text will also be yellow.

Why Invisible Text is "Illegal"

Hidden Text / Invisible Text is made to give a website an unfair advantage of KEYWORDS that are "embedded" in the main page of a website (which is typically the most important page of any site; interior pages simply help promote the main pages - like how a steak doesn't need seasoning, but every seasoning you put on it gives it a little more flavor)

When using Invisible Text, site owners are looking to have their site found based on an, often MASSIVE, list of keywords that relate to their site or product(s). Most of the time it is fairly easy to spot websites that are using Invisible text because there will be a large gap at the bottom of their main page - a gap that "simply doesn't belong". Again, to see the list of Hidden Text, simply "highlight" the suspiscious area and reveal the text.

The Dangers of Hidden Text

Invisible Text is against the rules of all search engines. As stated in Google policy:

* Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.
* Don't send automated queries to Google.
* Don't load pages with irrelevant words.
* Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
* Don't create pages that install viruses, trojans, or other badware.
* Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
* If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.

As you can see, Invisible Text clearly defies many of their standards. And not reading the policy is no excuse for breaking the rules.

Legal Alternatives to Hidden Text

The truth is, if you genuinely VALUE your business / website and you are looking for LONGEVITY as opposed to a quick buck, you can agree that you have every intention of being in operation for "the long haul", right?
With that being said, the most simple, legal alternative to hiding text is to create QUALITY content using the same KEYWORDS which you would have "hidden".

You can learn about keywords and content creation by checking out the articles I have written on them.

Articles About Writing "Legally"

These are a few pieces of content I wrote that are a great place to start when learning about content and keywords if you are a beginner (and also some awesome How To Make Money Online stuff!)

Guide to Keywords, and Making Money Online - I highly suggest reading this article!

Writing Content: Where to Start - How to Brainstorm Content Creation

Using HTML and Keywords - Learn how to create HTML links, photos, BOLD, ITALICs and more

Black Hat VS White Hat SEO Video Guide

CAST YOUR VOTE!

Have You Tried Using "Black Hat SEO" Techniques?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)