Although it is widely known as a poor search engine optimization (SEO) practice, websites that use hidden text might want to take notice of the recent case involving a Texas senator and the governor who says he has been slandered.
Recently it was reported by the Austin American-Statesman that the website for the upcoming gubernatorial run of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison contained more than 2,000 hidden phrases in what appeared to be an attempt to increase the search engine optimization (SEO) for the site. The initial news report indicated that the phases included at least two "gay" references to current Texas Governor Rick Perry.
The use of hidden text got the site booted from the Google Index with Matt Cutts confirming the removal through Twitter last week.
But while the Hutchison campaign removed the keywords that suggested Perry was gay, it may be too late as the Perry campaign says the actions slandered the governor and is setting a negative tone for the showdown the two are likely to have in the Republican primary next year.
For its part, the Hutchison campaign says the references to Perry’s sexual orientation were not malicious.
"To be clear, this list of words was generated by a computer," Hutchison spokesman Jeff Sadosky told the Dallas Morning News. " No person, either with the campaign or otherwise, was involved in creating this list," he said.
