Volkswagon’s web site, vw.com, was recently showcased by Google for using Google Enterprise Search to power the new VW site.
Today, Barry Schwartz & Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land were reviewing the site on their podcast when a quick look at the source code revealed that VW.com, the Google favorite, is actually using hidden text spam techniques.
Here is the text that is clearly not visible on the page. It’s kept invisible using a special style called “invisibleContent:”
[div class=”invisibleContent”]Volkswagen of America presents U.S. vehicle information, pricing, incentives, deals, comparisons on Eos, GTI, Jetta, New Beetle, New Beetle Convertible, Passat, Passat Wagon, Touareg, Rabbit, R32 and the GLI with links to VW dealers, owner information, Volkswagen merchandise, and VW accessories. homepage, volkswagen, volkswagon, vw.com, home, landing, top, volkswagen.com, home page, home, top, back, VWofAmerica, Volkswagen of America, Volkswagon of America, VWoA, VWofA, volkswagon.com[/div]
Google has guidelines against using hidden text.
After the invisibleContent code was uncovered, Google and VW worked together to place the text in the meta description of the site.
