Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Does Google read texts when display=none?
-
Hi,
In our e-commerce site on category pages we have pagination (i.e toshiba laptops page 1, page 2 etc.).
We implement it with rel='next' and 'prev' etc.
On the first page of each category we display a header with lots of text information. This header is removed on the following pages using display='none'.
I wondered if since it is only a css display game google might still read it and consider duplicated content.
Thanks
-
Thanks.
Question though, I'm not using canonical, only next and prev.
I don't think canonical should be placed since it is not the same content (different products).Any thoughts?
-
It's my understanding that the Googlebot can read this text, regardless of .css styles. You can actually check this yourself by putting in the page URL on this website (do a simple search for a free report). That browser fetches your page as the Googlebot would see it, so you can see if the content is read by Google or not.
Now, as for whether or not this might be deemed duplicate content, I don't think you have much to worry about as you have already taken necessary steps to prevent any penalty. Implementing the canonical tags that you have will tell Google that any duplicate content there is for a user reason and is not trying to game the system.
Provided those tags remain in place, I think you'll be fine. A problem may occur if you're building outbound links and hiding them using display=none or other .css styles. This is a big no-no and can get your site deindexed if Google finds it. Always worth bearing in mind for people on your team, but it looks like you've got everything under control!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved How much time does it take for Google to read the Sitemap?
Hi there, I could use your help with something. Last week, I submitted my sitemap in the search console to improve my website's visibility on Google. Unfortunately, I got an error message saying that Google is not reading my sitemap. I'm not sure what went wrong. Could you take a look at my site (OceanXD.org) and let me know if there's anything I can do to fix the issue? I would appreciate your help. Thank you so much!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | OceanXD1 -
Can you index a Google doc?
We have updated and added completely new content to our state pages. Our old state content is sitting in a our Google drive. Can I make these public to get them indexed and provide a link back to our state pages? In theory it sounds like a great link building strategy... TIA!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | LindsayE1 -
Google Penalty Checker Tool
What is the best tool to check for the google penalty, What penalty hit the website. ?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Michael.Leonard0 -
"Null" appearing as top keyword in "Content Keywords" under Google index in Google Search Console
Hi, "Null" is appearing as top keyword in Google search console > Google Index > Content Keywords for our site http://goo.gl/cKaQ4K . We do not use "null" as keyword on site. We are not able to find why Google is treating "null" as a keyword for our site. Is anyone facing such issue. Thanks & Regards
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | vivekrathore0 -
Does Google penalise content that sits behind a read gate?
Does Google penalise content that sits behind a read gate? Currently, most of the content on our site sits behind a read gate. People have to register before they can view the detailed content. Currently, our forums are accessible to all which draws a lot of long tail traffic. Google does seem to be indexing some of our gated content, but can someone advise me how they view this content more generally please?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | RG_SEO0 -
Google is displaying wrong address
I have a client whose Google Places listing is not showing correctly. We have control of the page, and have the address verified by postcard. Yet when we view the listing it shows a totally different address that is miles away and on a totally different street. We have relogged into manage the business listing and all of the info is correct. We dragged the marker and submitted it to them that they had things wrong and left a note with the right address. Why would this happen and how can we fix it? Right now they rank highly but with a blatantly wrong address.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Atomicx0 -
How long is the google sandbox these days?
Hello, I'm putting up a new site for the first time in a while. How long is the Google Sandbox these days, and what has changed about it. Before it was 6 months to 1 year long. Thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BobGW0 -
Wordtracker vs Google Keyword Tool
When I find keyword opportunities in Wordtracker, I'll sometimes run them through Adwords Keyword tool only to find that Google says these keywords have 0 search volume. Would you use these keywords even though Google says users aren't searching for them?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | nicole.healthline0