Question: Does Google index content hidden with "display: none"?

Whether or not Google indexes content hidden using the CSS property display: none has been a topic of interest for SEO professionals and web developers. The simple answer is that Google does crawl and index content set to display: none, but this comes with nuances.

Understanding display: none

The display: none CSS property removes an element from the document layout and rendering, essentially making it invisible to the user. This differs from visibility: hidden, which hides the element but still occupies its space in the layout.

Google's Approach

Google's web crawlers are designed to understand pages as a user would see them. Content hidden with display: none is generally indexed by Google, but its importance might be diminished compared to visible content. This is because Google assumes that visible content is more likely to represent the primary focus of a page.

Here are a few considerations:

• Relevance to User Experience: If the use of display: none improves user experience, for instance by enhancing page usability or design through responsive layouts or interactive content (like tabs and accordions), Google is likely to view such usage favorably.

• Potential for Abuse: Historically, hiding text was a common black-hat SEO strategy. As a result, if Google detects that display: none is used to manipulate search rankings by hiding irrelevant or spammy content, it could negatively impact the site's ranking.

Best Practices

1. Use JavaScript responsibly: When dynamically displaying content based on user interactions, such as in tabs or dropdowns, ensure that the content is accessible and relevant.
2. Avoid misuse: Do not use display: none to hide large amounts of text or links that you do not want users to see but hope to rank for.
3. Structured data and accessibility: Ensure that important structured data is visible to both users and search engines to avoid any misunderstanding by search bots.

Ultimately, while Google can index content hidden with display: none, the context and intent behind its use are crucial for how it impacts your SEO.