The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Forum
    2. Categories
    3. SEO Tactics
    4. On-Page Optimization
    5. Is there an SEO penalty for text that appears only in a pop-up box when you hover the mouse over an icon?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Is there an SEO penalty for text that appears only in a pop-up box when you hover the mouse over an icon?

    On-Page Optimization
    4 4 2.2k
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • jimmartin_zoho.com
      jimmartin_zoho.com last edited by

      A client of mine wants to streamline the look of his web pages, taking some of the visible body copy and putting it into boxes that pop up when you hover the mouse over an icon. My understanding is that search engines will index this pop-up text. However, do they penalize pages that have text in pop-up boxes out of concern that those pages are spammy? In this case, the text and the page are perfectly legitimate e-commerce pages. Thanks for any insights you can offer.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • KeriMorgret
        KeriMorgret last edited by

        I can't see why there would be a penalty, but if you give us an example of the code or plugin/solution you're using, we can research it a little and see if there are any problems.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Goetzman
          Goetzman last edited by

          Can you drop some of the code for us to analyze?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • NickPateman81
            NickPateman81 last edited by

            There won't be a penalty. But the question of whether or not the text is visible to search engines depends on how it pops up i.e. title attribute? JavaScript? AJAX?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • 1 / 1
            • First post
              Last post

            Got a burning SEO question?

            Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


            Start my free trial


            Explore more categories

            • Moz Tools

              Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

              Getting Started
              Moz Pro
              Moz Local
              Moz Bar
              API
              What's New

            • SEO Tactics

              Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

              Content Development
              Competitive Research
              Keyword Research
              Link Building
              On-Page Optimization
              Technical SEO
              Reporting & Analytics
              Intermediate & Advanced SEO
              Image & Video Optimization
              International SEO
              Local SEO

            • Community

              Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

              Moz Blog
              Moz News
              Industry News
              Jobs and Opportunities
              SEO Learn Center
              Whiteboard Friday

            • Digital Marketing

              Chat about tactics outside of SEO

              Affiliate Marketing
              Branding
              Conversion Rate Optimization
              Web Design
              Paid Search Marketing
              Social Media

            • Research & Trends

              Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

              SERP Trends
              Search Behavior
              Algorithm Updates
              White Hat / Black Hat SEO
              Other SEO Tools

            • Support

              Connect on product support and feature requests.

              Product Support
              Feature Requests
              Participate in User Research

            • See all categories

            • Does Bolding Text Have Any Impact on SEO?
              tryfantasy
              tryfantasy
              1
              8
              12.6k

            • Do you think using accordion text can hurt SEO?
              DTOSI
              DTOSI
              1
              8
              7.1k

            Get started with Moz Pro!

            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

            Start my free trial
            Products
            • Moz Pro
            • Moz Local
            • Moz API
            • Moz Data
            • STAT
            • Product Updates
            Moz Solutions
            • SMB Solutions
            • Agency Solutions
            • Enterprise Solutions
            • Digital Marketers
            Free SEO Tools
            • Domain Authority Checker
            • Link Explorer
            • Keyword Explorer
            • Competitive Research
            • Brand Authority Checker
            • Local Citation Checker
            • MozBar Extension
            • MozCast
            Resources
            • Blog
            • SEO Learning Center
            • Help Hub
            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
            • How-to Guides
            • Moz Academy
            • API Docs
            About Moz
            • About
            • Team
            • Careers
            • Contact
            Why Moz
            • Case Studies
            • Testimonials
            Get Involved
            • Become an Affiliate
            • MozCon
            • Webinars
            • Practical Marketer Series
            • MozPod
            Connect with us

            Contact the Help team

            Join our newsletter
            Moz logo
            © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
            • Accessibility
            • Terms of Use
            • Privacy

            Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.