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Vintage Search Engine Spam
September 8, 2005
I am amazed at the number of web sites who still use invisible text to keyword stuff their web pages. This antique, black hat, SEO spam technique is like a nagging, 4-year-old canker sore that won't heal.
One of my favorite examples is the Gulf Coast Spas site.
On their home page, scroll down to the bottom of the page. See the light blue horizontal bar? Now hold down the Control and "A" buttons on your keyboard (this will show you just the text on the page).
Ba da bing! Your browser should now show you the hidden text that makes its home in that blue horizontal bar. This text is the exact same color as that blue bar. In HTML-speak, it's font color="#d2d2d2".
What text does a search engine spider see when it visits this page? Exactly what you see when you hit Control-A:
gulf coast spas gulf coast spa coast gulf spas coast gulf spa gulfcoast spas gulfcoast spa superior spas auqaclara spa covers hot tub covers spa filters hot tub filters aquaclara home spa jacuzzi sundance spas dealers nation wide Gulf Coast Spas Gulf Coast Spa Coast Gulf Spas Coast Gulf Spa Gulfcoast Spas Gulfcoast Spa Superior Spas AquaClara Spa Covers Hot Tub Covers Spa Filters Hot Tub Filters Home Spa Jacuzzi Sundance Spas Dealers Nation Wide gulf coast spas gulf coast spa coast gulf spas coast gulf spa gulfcoast spas, gulfcoast spa superior spas superior spa spa covers hot tub covers spa filters hot tub filters aquaclara home spa jacuzzi sundance spas dealers nation wide Gulf Coast Spas Gulf Coast Spa Coast Gulf Spas Coast Gulf Spa Gulfcoast Spas Gulfcoast Spa, Superior Spas Superior Spa Spa Covers Hot Tub Covers Spa Filters Hot Tub Filters Home Spa Jacuzzi Sundance Spas Dealers Nation Wide gulf coast spas gulf coast spa coast gulf spas coast gulf spa gulfcoast spas gulfcoast spa superior spas superior spa spa covers hot tub covers spa filters hot tub filters aquaclara home spa jacuzzi sundance spas dealers nation wide Gulf Coast Spas Gulf Coast Spa Coast Gulf Spas Coast Gulf Spa Gulfcoast Spas Gulfcoast Spa Superior Spas Superior Spa Spa Covers Hot Tub Covers Spa Filters Hot Tub Filters Home Spa Jacuzzi Sundance Spas Dealers Nation Wide gulf coast spas gulf coast spa coast gulf spas coast gulf spa gulfcoast spas, aquaclara superior spas superior spa spa covers hot tub covers spa filters hot tub filters aquaclara home spa jacuzzi sundance spas aquaclara dealers nation wide Gulf Coast Spas Gulf Coast Spa Coast Gulf Spas Coast Gulf Spa Gulfcoast Spas AquaClara, Superior Spas Superior Spa Spa Covers Hot Tub Covers Spa Filters Hot Tub Filters Home Spa Jacuzzi Sundance Spas Dealers Nation Wide AquaClara
Pathetic. Notice they even include competitor names. And yes, if you click on the main navigation links on the left, the same invisible text resides on these pages as well. Hey, if you're going to spam, why be shy about it?
All the major engines tell web designers to "avoid" hidden text and call it search engine spam. I guess with the billions of web pages that now reside on the web, you're bound to still find pages like this. But, I still sigh and grin a little when I find one.
Do you know of a site that still uses vintage search engine spam techniques? Let me know.
All posts by Doug Ausbury
posted by Doug Ausbury at September 8, 2005 5:06 PM
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Comments
Wow, pretty harsh. What other methods would you use? How else do you get placement? This, as far as I know is done everywhere all the time. Please respond at my email address.
Posted by: Brad Tatum at September 19, 2005 7:54 PM
I look at the site and all I see is a Flash site with HTML code on the back side.
If you are such an authority on the matter you know that the Flash links on the left don't change pages, ever!
Get it right!
Posted by: Dal at September 22, 2005 2:16 PM
Dal,
Scroll down to the bottom and hit Ctrl+A. This post has nothing to do with Flash; it's about hidden text. We'll send you a screen shot if you want.
Posted by: erik at September 22, 2005 4:30 PM
Well you made statments about the Flash page and the links.
Do you how flash works?
Posted by: Dal at September 23, 2005 2:32 PM
As of 24 October 2005 I cannot see this hidden text. Perhaps Gulf Coast has redone their site, and if so perhaps you should modify your comment accordingly.
Posted by: Tom at October 24, 2005 2:06 PM
> ...perhaps you should modify your comment accordingly
Consider it done. The site looks great.
Posted by: erik at October 24, 2005 4:44 PM
Wonderful to read!
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Posted by: Internet Advertising at August 7, 2010 6:31 AM
You lost me, friend. I mean, I imagine I get what youre declaring. I realize what you are saying, but you just seem to have forgotten that you'll find some other folks inside the world who see this matter for what it actually is and may well not agree with you. You might be turning away a decent amount of persons who might have been fans of your web site.
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