Duplicate content across similar computer "models" and how to properly handle it.

[The_Rugged_Store]

I run a website that revolves around a niche rugged computer market.  There are several "main" models for each computer that also has several (300-400) "sub" models that only vary by specifications for each model.  My problem is I can't really consolidate each model to one product page to avoid duplicate content. To have something like a drop down list would be massive and confusing to the customer when they could just search the model they needed.  Also I would say 80-90% of the market searches for a specific model when they go to purchase or in Google. A lot of our customers are city government, fire departments, police departments etc. they get a list of approved models and purchase off that they don't really search by specs or "configure" a model so each model number having a chance to rank is important.  Currently we have all models in each sub category rel=canonical back to the main category page for that model.  Is there a better way to go about this?  Example page you can see how there are several models all product descriptions are the same they only vary by model writing a unique description for each one is an unrealistic possibility for us.  Any suggestions on this would be appreciated I keep going back on forth on what the correct solution would be.

[KaneJamison]

Do people tend to search for "CF-19" in the Toshiba example, or do they tend to search for "CF-1956Y6XLM"?

If it's CF-19 then I would add more value to the example pages, and not worry about the subpages as much. But, I'm guessing that it's the specific model numbers, in which case the ideal situation is to be able to index an exact page for that model number. If you take a look at the "CF-1956Y6XLM" example, PC World is ranking #1 pretty much on all spec content, meaning they're coasting on domain authority to rank those pages. Meanwhile I see you guys at #4. Typically I would suggest that it's a bad plan to go with really thin content, but if everyone else is doing it, you may not need 200-300 words to move up in the rankings. Try producing 50-75 custom words on 100 of these pages where you're ranking Top 5. Do it for models that are newer so you can monitor ranking improvement over time. If the ranking and traffic improvements happen, and they convert, then figure out if you can scale that process up for every new incoming product.

Other SERP benefits can beat rankings here, too. If you can get legitimate product ratings and generate some rich snippets for the products, that will help maximize your CTR. Try to write better meta descriptions, too - right now they're all pretty drab on that SERP example.

Martijn's suggestion of reviews is a good start but will probably only help on 10-20% of pages that you're able to get reviews on. Nevertheless, probably worth the effort.

Some e-commerce platforms will allow you to save a single product with variations, which helps with this problem. If 10 models can share a page, and be selected with a product sub menu (like the t-shirt size or color selector on a fashion ecommerce site) then that is a good way to cut down on total URLs by 50-90%. But, I'd try the unique content route first and see if the numbers add up.

[The_Rugged_Store]

I was afraid of this answer.  If it was a static product I would be happy to do this but since it is technology in 6-8 months the next "generation" will be out with new models numbers needing descriptions for each one to be re-written which is incredibly difficult to keep up with.

Is there a middle of the road option?  is rel=canonical my best choice if I can't do unique content for every single model?

If so is there a way to maximize the benefit of rel=canonical in this situation?

[Martijn_Scheijbeler]

Reviews can work perfectly for user generated content to make sure that the content is a bit more unique. It's an easy one and I'm probably hitting an open door here but depending on how much products you sell for a specific version it might help you to extend both the content and make it more unique.

[MattAntonino]

It's a very tough question and one that is common with a lot of e-commerce.

The only really complete solution I have for you that addresses each of your needs is to not base the page "content" on the specs.

Make specs a table on the page but put in enough unique content about each model and variation that it has its own truly unique content.

I know this solution means writing at least say 200-300 words of unique content for every model but 100k words solves the whole issue. It just depends if it is worth them all ranking. But this solution gives you:

a) unique content

b) chance for every page to rank & no canonicals back to one page

c) much more long tail search volume

d) specific searches for every one of your potential customers.

That's really the best I can do ... it takes the duplicate content issue away and solves every problem except the one of having to create this much content in the first place.