[+QUESTION+] — How does google crawl filters?

Hello!

I recently built a tab/filter system using GenerateBlocks in WordPress to organize and present multiple variations of offers under a single topic. Everything looks and works great from a UX standpoint.

However, after launching this setup, I noticed a significant drop in organic rankings across several pages where this new structure was implemented.

My main questions:

• Does Google fully crawl and index content that’s hidden behind tabs (i.e., requires user interaction to display)?
• Could the drop be because Google treats hidden content as less important or ignores it entirely?
• Are there any best practices (HTML structure, ARIA attributes, CSS/JS guidelines) to ensure tabbed/filter content is properly indexed and valued?

The tabs are built using standard WordPress/GenerateBlocks components, mostly relying on CSS classes and basic JS for toggling visibility — no dynamic loading (AJAX) involved.

Would love to hear if anyone has faced similar SEO challenges with hidden/tabbed content setups and how you approached it.

Thanks a lot!

Following

Google can crawl and index it, but if it’s not visible when the page loads, it might not get prioritized. You’re doing well with ARIA attributes, but also make sure the content is in the source code and not just loaded with JS after the page loads.
Sometimes, if the content is too hidden, it might look less important to Google. Just something to keep in mind. Hope that helps!

nextlevel SEO said:

Google can crawl and index it, but if it’s not visible when the page loads, it might not get prioritized. You’re doing well with ARIA attributes, but also make sure the content is in the source code and not just loaded with JS after the page loads.
Sometimes, if the content is too hidden, it might look less important to Google. Just something to keep in mind. Hope that helps!

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Interesting! Will keep in. mind!

Google can crawl tabbed content if it’s already loaded in the page source, but hidden content usually gets less SEO weight compared to what’s immediately visible. If important keywords or sections are behind tabs, it can hurt rankings. Best to keep critical info visible without user interaction, make sure all tab content loads without AJAX, and use proper heading structure inside the tabs.