Hidden text

Sometimes webmasters try to deceive the search engine by placing invisible (barely visible) texts on their site that contain keywords or phrases. Often these texts are not visible to site visitors, but are clearly seen by indexing robots. This can be, for example:

  • White text on the white background.
  • Text written in very small, almost invisible font.
  • Text hidden using special techniques: "display: none", shifting the text from the visible part of the site.

In some cases, such text isn't posted by the webmaster, but is the result of hacking.

Yandex detected that I have this violation. How do I fix it?

First of all, you need to remove the hidden text from the site or, if users really need it, make it clearly visible. If you are sure that you did not place the text, check who else has access to the site administration, and disable unnecessary users. If you assume that the hidden text was placed by hacking your site, make sure to change your site password and follow the security recommendations.

When the violation on the website is eliminated, you can use the I fixed it button on the Security and violations page in Yandex.Webmaster. The restrictions are usually lifted within a month after you clear the violation. After that, the violation mark in the service will disappear.

Note.

You can click the I fixed it button again for the same site after a month. Further, this period is increased up to three months to avoid the button misuse. Therefore, we recommend using the button only when you are sure that there are no more violations on the site.

If multiple users have website management rights in Yandex.Webmaster, agree on who will send the website for re-checking and when. After clicking the button, none of the users will be able to click it again within a month.

On my site, I use a special technique to hide part of the text. But I don't want to deceive anyone, and site users can always see it if they want to. Is this a violation?

No. If this technique makes the site more convenient for its visitors, then, of course, this isn't considered a violation. For example, such technique may hide a part of a long text that may not be interesting for all site visitors, but it can always be expanded to read it in full.

I couldn't find hidden text on my site, do I need to click the button?

If you are completely sure that there is no such violation on your site, we recommend that you use the button.