Duplicate content and ways to deal with it.
-
Problem
I queried back a year for the portal and we can see below that the SEO juice is split between the upper and lowercase. You can see the issue in the attached images.
Solutions:
1) Quick: Change the link on the pages above to be lowercase
2) Use canonical link tag http://www.seomoz.org/blog/canonical-url-tag-the-most-important-advancement-in-seo-practices-since-sitemaps
The tag is part of the HTML header on a web page, the same section you'd find the Title attribute and Meta Description tag. In fact, this tag isn't new, but like nofollow, simply uses a new rel parameter. For example:
http://www.darden.virginia.edu/MBA" />
''This would tell Yahoo!, Live & Google that the page in question should be treated as though it were a copy of the URL http://www.darden.virginia.edu/MBA and that all of the link & content metrics the engines apply should technically flow back to that URL.''
3) See if there is any Google Analytics filters at the site level I can apply. I will check into this and get back to you.
What do you all think??????
-
Because that is just filtering your data in your report. That will not stop this from happening.
-
I think (2) - the canonical tag - is a solid solution if just a few URLs are out of whack, but if you're using the mixed-case version internally, then you may need to change your structure as well. If you change your structure, then I'd probably look at a full-scale system of 301-redirects to preserve inbound link-juice.
It sounds like you're linking to mixed-case internally, so you may need to set up the redirects. Make sure that, depending on your platform, the case-specific redirects work properly (and don't create an endless loop). There is some risk to making the switch, so I'd probably only do it if you're seeing this happen a lot. Unfortunately, mixed-case URLs are often more trouble than they're worth.
-
Why would I not just do this?
http://support.google.com/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=90397
-
I would stick to using the Rel=Canonical tag.
You could also check in Google Webmaster Tools and look at the URL parameter handling tool.
In this you will be able to:
1. Recognize duplicate content on your website.
2.Determine your preferred URLs.
3.Apply 301 permanent redirects where necessary and possible.
4.Implement the rel="canonical" link element on your pages where you can.
5.Use the URL parameter handling tool in Google Webmaster Tools where possible.
Further reading: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/reunifying-duplicate-content-on-your.htmlI hope this helps
Ally
-
Option "2," using rel=canonical seems like the best course of action to me. You may also want to apply a 301 redirect.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Solved Is there a way to remove the Moz branding from automated PDF reports that are emailed to clients?
Is there a way to remove the Moz branding from automated PDF reports that are emailed to clients?
Reporting & Analytics | | ArttiaCreative0 -
Did Analytics change the way to handle Google images searches on Dec 12?
Dear all, One of the sites I'm monitoring receives a lot of traffic from image searches or images that appear in universal search results. On Dec 12th, 2015, the bounce rate for these sessions went from around 30% the day before to around 87%. See screen shot below. Did anybody notice similar bounces in the bounce rate? Did Google change something in the way that image search is handled? Looking forward to your ideas! large?v=mpbl-1&px=999
Reporting & Analytics | | AABMarketing_Frank0 -
Best way to handle ignored Rel=Canonical?
My Google Analytics is reporting organic traffic for URL's with a QueryString attached, even though there's a Canonical tag that points to the preferred (non-QueryStringed) version. Would the best way to handle this be the GWT URL Parameters Tool? I'm fairly unfamiliar with the tool, but after some research, it looks like this might be the best way to go. Does anyone have any good/bad advice for using the tool? Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | GalcoIndustrial1 -
I have few similar job forms that were created for different positions. SEOMoz says, its "duplicate pages". So how do I resolve it? I want my jobs to be searchable in Search Engines.
Hi There, I have few similar job forms that were created for different positions. SEOMoz says, its "duplicate pages". So how do I resolve it? I want my jobs to be searchable in Search Engines. Thanks !
Reporting & Analytics | | pointstar0 -
Is there a way to do this sort of keyword research?
I'd like to be able to do some keyword research as follows: Let's say I have two (or maybe more) separate keyword phrases I want to rank, is there a way to find out what combination and/or additional keyword phrases/descriptors are searched for the most? For example, let's say I want to rank well for the following terms. "Green widgets" and "boxes" Is there a tool I can use that will give me ideas/suggestions on how to use those two keywords the best way? Especially showing me long tell keyword suggestions I may not even know about. The tool may show me things people search for like "best boxes for your green widgets" gets more serach results than "best boxes for my green widgets." (Helping me figure out which combo of words in a long tail phrase is better. Or it may tell me a suggestion I didn't think about like "how to build boxes for your green widgets," or "how to put your green widgets into boxes," or "where to find boxes for your green widgets" or other combinations of things people search for using those two phrases? This may be possable using google keyword tools, but if it is, I'm not sure how to do it. Looking forward for any feedback. Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | NoahsDad0 -
Is Google able to determine duplicate content every day/ month?
A while ago I talked to somebody who used to work for MSN a couple of years ago within their engineering department. We talked about a recent dip we had with one of our sites.We argued this could be caused by the large amount of duplicate content we have on this particular website (+80% of our site). Then he said, quoted: "Google seems only to be able to determine every couple of months instead of every day if the content is actually duplicate content". I clearly don't doubt that duplicate content is a ranking factor. But I would like to know you guys opinions about Google being only able to determine this every couple of X months instead of everyday. Have you seen or heard something similar?
Reporting & Analytics | | Martijn_Scheijbeler0 -
How can you tell if your new content has been indexed?
Other than simply doing a search in each case, is there any way I can tell (in Webmaster Tools, for example) if the 500-1000 new pages of content I have added have been indexed and are now appearing in search results? My traffic hasn't risen much, but I know at least a few of them are in there... How can I tell when they're all in?
Reporting & Analytics | | corp08030 -
What's the best way to track moble traffic / sales from a subdomain in Google Analytics?
Hello, I've been trying to figure out the best way to track traffic and sales for a subdomain mobile site and would appreciate any feedback or guidance. I've set up an advanced segment but have found that I'm not able to source traffic since the segments get disabled when trying to view top content pages. I've also setup an additional sub-profile under the main domain profile in google analytics and have set up an advanced filter using the following guildelines http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingSite.html In the Profile Settings page, click the Add Filter link. Choose Add New Filter and provide the filter a name. Choose Custom Filter and select Advanced on the Filter type settings. Under Advanced settings: FieldA should be set to Hostname FieldB should be set to Request URI Set the values for both Field A and Field B to (.*), which is an expression that captures all characters. Set the Output To --> Constructor option to Request URI and provide $A1$B1 as the value for that choice. I'm unsure if I've set up the profile / filter correctly, the traffic stats are different than the segment. The mobile profile is also tracking all ecommerce transactions instead of just mobile. Here's the code I have in place. we're using the Traditional code Thanks, Jamie
Reporting & Analytics | | marketing_zoovy.com0