Hidden divs to expand content - can they get you in trouble?

[konrad]

Hi,

When the last time I was trying to find out whether "hidden divs" (or any other html element) are OK I didn't get the simple answer.

I want to make some div's (or paragraphs) hidden by default - then user can click to expand it. Nothing unusual, actually Google's page is doing the same - with the "more" link at the top.

But I have in mind all those scary stories from webmasters banned for "hidden contents".

So, now - after a year after last time I was interested in this subject - are there any known clear rules/facts ?

Maybe I shouldn't try it on a new domain? Or maybe there is no danger in reality?

[WiseWebDude]

We've used them and found no problems...you must do what is best for your visitors...Google understands this and I think they are good at recognizing this technique as being useful...I certainly wouldn't worry about that at all. Heck, I've seen one site reported by MANY people with flat out hidden text (black on black) on the home page and Google has done nothing about it. The hidden divs are, obviously, a good way to keep content up top without the user having to scroll down ten miles like some blogs I've seen, that drives me nuts.

:)

[konrad]

I'll do that, thanks.

[tedster]

This is becoming more and more common all the time and I've yet to see anyone punished for it. As long as a user action can reveal that initially hidden content, you're fine.

[BradleyT]

I guess the easiest test would be to find a FAQ page that has questions visible and answers hidden (through DIV visibility toggling) and see if the answer text is getting indexed.

[konrad]

This is becoming more and more common all the time and I've yet to see anyone punished for it. As long as a user action can reveal that initially hidden content, you're fine.

It's just that I do remember neverending discussions about it... That Google started to read css files to find out whether the webmaster hides some contents (by using the same color for text and background, or other methods). Or Matt Cutts' examples of "don't do that" - with links to websites where a content was hidden in some way (these were actually examples of a very small text or the same color of text and background, but still - it's hidden:)

I guess the easiest test would be to find a FAQ page that has questions visible and answers hidden (through DIV visibility toggling) and see if the answer text is getting indexed.

I don't really care about that - if this will or will not be indexed. It's not about getting a better position in SERPS, I just don't want to be banned.
Hidden divs are one of those things I really want to implement for good user experience, but I'm really scared G will simply detect that "it's hidden" so "let's ban it" :)
Btw: I know the big sites aren't banned - eg. digg and many others - I'm worried about my small, newly created domain.

But since there are no reports about any problems with it (that's actually a very positive information for me), I'll do it.

One thing bothers me - sorry for so long message:) - Why are there so few comments on this post - if this is supposed to be a popular method of making user's life easier ? :) Isn't this one of the most interesting things in SEO subject (banning innocent webmasters)?