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Re: Skip links and SEO

for

From: smithj7
Date: May 2, 2007 4:10PM

I'm guessing that the problem is "language". I'm more an html person,
but work for blind services and we get requests on how to make
applications, cbts and other items accessible. I discovered that in a
.net envirnmnent, hidden DOES in fact mean hidden. Even AT can't read
it. However, on a website, if I use CSS to "hide" the skip navigation,
it is accessible to AT and search engines. I hope this makes sense. I
could be explain it using the wrong language. <grinning wickedly>

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of MP
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 10:20 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: [WebAIM] Skip links and SEO


Hi all,

I've been discussing with some colleagues lately SEO and accessibility.
Usually, I consider that SEO and accessibility to go hand and hand -
make your content accessible to people with disabilities, and surely a
robot machine at Google can read it too.

However, a colleague of mine had been to an SEO conference, where she
was told flat out that you should never ever hide text, otherwise it
will hurt your Google rankings. The way she said the guy said it, it
sounded like a cardinal rule/mantra. At first, it made sense to me
(remember all that white on white text, hiding extra keywords, etc). But
then I also thought back to something as simple as a "Skip to Content"
which can be hidden from a standard web browser in any host of ways.

I tried to get a definitive answer on this toic, but no luck. The Matt
Cutt's blog (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/) talks a lot about hidden
links and how malicious they are, and how Google will cut you down if
you use them, but he never answers the particular question about when
things are hidden for accessibility's sake (although he's asked all the
time in the comments). There's lots of speculation, and discussion as to
whether skip links should be hidden/used at all, but what I really want
to know is what of the consequence of using them now for SEO. It seems
that Google lowering your rankings because you use what may be
considered one of the most standard items on an accessible site seems
just a little bit crazy.

Before I send out a memo that says "stop using skip links," I'd like to
get some different takes on it. It seems that nowadays, if someone at
Google says jump, web designers all how high.

Marissa