There has been a lot of discussion regarding tabbed content on the old SEO water cooler. Is it excellent, terrible, worthless, or advantageous?
We wanted to know the problem with tabbed content, so we put our heads together and came up with our most educated opinions.
First, does anyone know how Google handles material across the board?
Not (at least for those who do not work for Google), but that is OK because we are well-versed in Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and documented best practices.
Using those, we may examine previous testing data and make some safe assumptions.
What is Tabbed Content?
Tabbed content is any material accessible via a single URL but needs the user to click again. It is stuff that is not immediately visible to someone who visits the page.
Tabs include secondary information for the user, such as a product video, technical details, and product documentation that may be downloaded.
This supplementary information is valuable but less influential in organic rankings. Putting it in tabs for the user is an acceptable method.
In this example, the tabs include supplementary information for the user, such as a product video, technical information, and product documentation, which may be downloaded.
Tabbed Content: Is it Bad for SEO?
So the question isn’t whether tabbed content is search engine friendly, but how you do it properly.
Google ranks websites depending on user experience, so tabbed content SEO has typically been seen as less important in search engine results than SEO phrases appearing when the page loads.
A person seeking a specific item can browse the first page to find what they seek.
They will only open new tabs or click through to something immediately visible. This is similar to when a searcher gets on a page and the term is in a hidden or tabbed field; they frequently exit that website without further searching.
For the user, the website has missed the target of what they are looking for. Hence, the user experience could be better here.
Accordion Content & SEO
Content accordions are an excellent choice for showing large amounts of material on mobile, particularly Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) type content.
In the example below, the responsive website is built to display all relevant FAQ material by default on the desktop view.
Still, it transforms to accordions on a mobile device to provide a more effortless user experience for mobile visitors.
The FAQ information is displayed by default on the desktop view, but it switches to an accordion design on mobile devices.
The example below uses content accordions in the desktop view to offer extra material that discusses specifics about a procedure related to their products. While this is vital information, it is more of an FYI for people wanting further information.
Content accordions are used on the desktop screen to provide additional product information.
The Evidence For Tabbed Content as a Ranking Factor
Here’s what Google’s Webmaster Guidelines say regarding material hidden in tabs:
“Make your site’s important content visible by default. Google can crawl HTML content hidden inside navigational elements such as tabs or expanding sections.
However, we consider this content less accessible to users and believe you should make your most important information visible in the default page view.”
In a 2013 response to a viewer’s inquiry, “How does Google treat hidden content that becomes visible when clicking a button?” Matt Cutts addressed the problem from a webspam viewpoint.
He said utilizing an accordion or tabbed layout that allows users to conceal and expose material has substantial usability benefits.
You won’t get any spam activities if you don’t try to deceive with hidden, over-optimized language.
This indicates that Google does not recognize adequately structured and styled tabs or accordions as hidden content.
But is the material in those tabs weighted similarly to page content that is always visible?
In 2014, Google’s John Mueller was questioned about accusations that Google ignores material that isn’t accessible to a user until they click on a “click to expand” button while producing pages.
Mueller said,
“…I think we’ve been doing something similar for quite a while now, where if we can recognize that the content is actually hidden then we’ll just try to discount it a little bit. We kind of see that it’s still there, but the user doesn’t see it. Therefore, it’s probably not something that’s critical for this page.”
He clarified that he was referring to both accordions and tabs and suggested that if you want material indexed, make it available to people.
Final Thoughts
Content is a ranking element, and giving people discretion over what material they view and when does not diminish its worth.
Tabbing the material would be much the same as not tabbing it.
So, is the material tabbed?
We know that with mobile-first indexing, Google assigns tabbed content the same weight as the rest of the text on the page.
The fact that it’s tabbed is less important than the content itself.
There are several techniques to “hide” tabbed content, some of which prevent Google from crawling it. If Google can crawl your material, it will be seen and ranked.
When utilized effectively, tabbed and accordion content may improve the user experience, particularly on mobile devices.
You risk incurring a partial or site-wide penalty if you attempt to utilize hidden text fraudulently. Check out how Google employs an accordion format on their Search Console assistance resource page:
The accordion serves as a navigational tool for revealing FAQs. When you click on a question, it takes you to another website where you may read the full-form response.
FAQs
a. What is tabbed content and how does it enhance user experience?
Tabbed content is a web design strategy that divides material into separate sections that may be accessed via tabs. It enhances the user experience by simplifying navigation, minimizing page clutter, and letting visitors discover content fast without browsing lengthy pages.
b. Does tabbed content affect SEO and search engine rankings?
Tabbed material can influence SEO, depending on how it is done. Search engines may or may not index hidden material within tabs. Thus, it’s critical to ensure essential information is visible and not hidden from search engine crawlers. Indexing may be improved by using HTML5 properly and ensuring that material is loaded in the DOM.
c. How can I effectively implement tabbed content on my website?
To efficiently deploy tabbed content, utilize clean and semantic HTML5 markup, enable accessibility for all users (including screen readers), and optimize for mobile devices. Testing functionality across several browsers and devices is also required to provide a consistent user experience.