Hidden links can be a huge SEO challenge as they are sometimes undetectable to the human eye.
They can have a detrimental effect on user experience, influence search engine rankings for a web page, and even result in search engine fines.
In this article, we will understand hidden links, their effect on search engine optimization, how to spot and manage all the links that may be hidden, and the best practices for website health.
What are Hidden Links?
A URL that is not readily visible or accessible to people on a website is known as a hidden link.
These are hyperlinks that are purposefully hidden from website visitors and can be interlinked with punctuation, embedded in text or images, or even concealed by intricate HTML design that stops the text from being highlighted.
It is possible to restrict access or reroute users without their awareness by using hidden links. They can be identified by strategies like keeping the formatting and style consistent with the rest of the content and adjusting the link to keep the pointer in its default position.
Hidden links are often used to trick website users, spam publications, and target search engines, impacting website security.
Regular links or natural links can be recognized by their highlighted anchor text, whereas hidden links are designed to evade users’ immediate notice.
The Purpose and Impact of Hidden Links
Hidden links are built for three main purposes.
1. Manipulating search engines
Hidden links are frequently used by spammers and website owners to raise their search engine results artificially.
Search engines can be deceived into believing that a website is more prevalent than it is by SEOs via hidden links. This has the potential to artificially boost a website’s backlink profile, potentially leading to improved search engine rankings.
However, the ability of search engines like Google to identify and penalize this practice is improving. Although users cannot see the links, search engines can still scan and index them.
2. Spamming websites
Hidden links enable stealthy website spamming. This attracts black-hat SEO operators who seek to spam websites with hyperlinks without the site owner’s knowledge or approval.
By concealing these links within the text or source code, they can disseminate them throughout various websites on the internet, potentially fooling both search engines and users.
This strategy frequently includes the employment of automated bots, targeting high-traffic sites like discussion forums, and targeting security flaws to embed hidden links into current content.
3. Tricking web visitors into installing malware
The most dangerous use of hidden links is to lure users into installing malware, or malicious software.
These links may appear in unexpected places on a page, such as hidden within photos and unintentionally clicking on one can result in the installation of malware. This malware can steal your personal information or damage your computer.
An example of a hidden link coded in a webpage
Hidden links, in contrast to relevant backlinks, can have a detrimental effect on your website’s SEO and search rankings. These dishonest tactics are regarded as black hat link building and may result in search engine penalties from Google and other search engines.
A website can see a decline in organic traffic and online exposure as a result. And in the worst situations, it may be de-indexed and taken out of the search engine results. Both publishers and recipients of spammy hidden links may face penalties and even blacklisting from Google.
Google’s algorithms have been improved over time to detect hidden links and differentiate them from organic backlinks. These algorithms help detect and penalize unnatural link building behavior by analyzing anchor text relevancy and connecting patterns using nofollow attributes and other web signals.
You could still be subject to Google penalties for having spammy and low-quality inbound links leading to your website, even if you are not aware that there are hidden links on it.
Therefore, making sure that all incoming links are visible for search engines and website visitors to identify is the ideal SEO approach for link building.
Identifying and Handling Hidden Links
Identifying and removing hidden links is critical for maintaining a healthy website and protecting your SEO efforts.
There are two primary approaches to identifying hidden links.
Manual inspection
One of the most important steps in finding hidden links is manual inspection. You must have access to the page’s source code to manually locate hidden links on a website.
Finding important link identifiers can help you locate all embedded URLs on the page, including external links. This technique can also be used to examine the source code and find any unusual or questionable JavaScript or anchor text that might be hiding links.
Automated tools
Despite their effectiveness, manual inspections can be time-consuming and difficult particularly if you have a large website or manage several websites.
SEO crawling tools such as Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Screaming Frog can be used to promptly examine a website’s code to find hidden or spammy content that could otherwise go undetected. In addition, browser security toolbars and plugins can quickly scan websites for hidden links and assist in blocking harmful URLs.
Regularly auditing the link structure of your website, including a manual review of the source code and using automated tools, is a smart idea to find any hidden links that might have an impact on your site’s SEO.
Once the hidden links have been identified, you can remove them and prevent link spammers by establishing a fully automated antispam system. To stop link spammers from inserting hidden links into your website, use antispam tools like plugins or browser extensions. These tools can assist in removing unwanted traffic and guarding against hidden link attacks on your website.
Hidden Link Techniques
Here are some of the techniques by which hidden links can be created:
- CSS Manipulation: CSS can be used to conceal links by using zero height and width or by changing the display to none.
- Color Matching: Links can be made invisible by camouflaging them by matching the backdrop color to the text color. This can make them completely invisible to the naked eye unless clicked on.
- Image Embedding: Hidden links can be incorporated into pictures or other non-textual components that visitors can’t see, causing them to click without realizing it.
- JavaScript Tricks: JavaScript can be used to create hidden links dynamically that aren’t visible when the website loads initially.
- Invisible iFrames: Links can be embedded inside iFrames that are invisible to the user, making them hidden from users.
- Tiny Font Sizes: The link text can be made nearly invisible to the human eye by setting its font size extremely small, making it harder to notice without a magnifying glass.
- Link clustering: Several links can be grouped in a condensed space, making it challenging to identify each one separately.
- Keyword Stuffing: Links can be made less obvious by hiding them inside blocks of text packed with keywords.
- Comment Tag Hiding: Links can be hidden from view while still being scanned by search engines by enclosing them in HTML comment tags.
- Absolute Positioning: Links can be invisible by using absolute positioning and placing them off screen.
Anti-Spam Measures to Protect Against Hidden Links
Link spammers frequently create automated bots or malware to secretly post hidden links to websites without the owners’ knowledge.
Your website can be protected from hidden links by putting anti-spam procedures in place. It is possible to stop spam comments by using CAPTCHA challenges, plugins, and difficult security questions.
Akismet is an excellent example of a powerful antispam plugin. This plugin is intended for Content Management System (CMS) platforms and assists with filtering out spammy comments, form submissions, advertisements, and other site interactions that may contain hidden links.
Additionally, you can install a robust web application firewall (WAF) to keep an eye on traffic around-the-clock, identify potential system threats, and prevent hacking attempts. Keeping your themes and plugins up to date can also help stop hidden links from being added to your website.
Strategies for Uncovering Hidden Links
Here are some of the most effective strategies for uncovering hidden links:
Manual inspection
Manually inspecting the source HTML code may appear difficult, yet it is a straightforward method for locating hidden links. Check for hidden components manually in the source HTML code.
Conduct an on-site link audit
To identify hidden links, perform a comprehensive on-site link audit. You can make use of specialized link auditing tools like Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. The Ahrefs Site Audit tool is a valuable resource for finding links concealed in your content.
Make use of web crawlers
To find hidden URLs, you can also use website crawlers such as Sitebulb and Screaming Frog.
Analyze the website’s sitemap
You can also examine the sitemap of the website to find any hidden pages or inconsistencies.
Use anti-spam plugins for monitoring
You can employ anti-spam plugins to routinely check for hidden links and spammy comments and install a robust web application firewall to identify and stop illegal link injections.
Stay updated on Google’s algorithms
Keep informed of Google’s algorithm changes to learn how search engines interpret hidden links and how to safeguard your website
Best Practices for Website Health
Here are some of the best practices to maintain website health:
- Keep an eye out for hidden links on your website and remove them. Plan frequent checks for hidden links to maintain security. You can use tools like Ahrefs Site Audit to find and address hidden links and other technical SEO problems.
- Protect your website against spammy comments and hidden links by using anti-spam plugins such as Google reCAPTCHA and hCaptcha, WordPress Zero Spam, Titan Anti-spam, and WP Cerber.
- To prevent hidden links from being added to your website, update your plugins and themes regularly.
- Install a robust web application firewall (WAF) to keep an eye on traffic and prevent hacking attempts. Services that analyze incoming traffic to your website, such as Cloudflare WAF, AWS WAF, Barracuda WAF, and Citrix WAF, can separate potential threats from legitimate visitors.
Over to You
Hidden links can negatively impact your website’s SEO and search rankings. Implementing anti-spam procedures and identifying and eliminating hidden links are crucial for safeguarding your website.
Regular website maintenance, as well as the use of tools such as Ahrefs Site Audit, can also help prevent hidden links from being injected into your site.
You can safeguard your website from hidden links while also improving its SEO by following best practices for website health and outsourcing backlink building from reputable services,
