Can a SE realize the size of a graphic?

even if its not posted?

[wfernley]

I have a quick question. On my site, on every page at the bottom I have a space.gif graphic that is 1px by 1px which is also a link to another site of mine. I dont have the size listed in the tag - all if have is <a href="http://www.mysite.com"><img src="images/spacer.gif" border="0"></a>. Can a search engine realize this and ban my site? I have been using it for a while and I don't seem to be having any problems.

Thanks ;)

Wes

[Lord Majestic]

Highly unlikely -- most SEs don't download images to have information about sizes (in some cases these specified in HTML).

[wfernley]

Yeah thats very true. Thanks for the reply :)

Wes

[itraykov]

even if they did you can always slap on a transparent image or one that blends with your bg

[wfernley]

Yeah, and thats exactly what it is. I use the spacer.gif as a transparent image that I can stretch for formatting tables.

[bunltd]

FWIW, Google suggests not using hidden links in their Webmaster Guidelines [google.com].

LisaB

[piskie]

A competitors spam report followed by a manual review by Google and down you go!

[itraykov]

piskie, i don't condone this, i don't do it myself, but i think that the chances of getting caught are VERY slim