joi, 28 octombrie 2010

SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog


Complete Guide to Rel Canonical - How To and Why (Not)

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 02:30 PM PDT

Posted by Lindsay

There are a lot of great posts and resources about the rel canonical tag, but they can be hard to identify with a simple search. Even if you break through the clutter and find something truly useful, the current information can be hard to separate from the old. The web has been missing a current top-to-bottom resource on the rel canonical tag. In this post, I’ll do my best to cover it all and update you on the latest.

Learn why and how to use the rel canonical tag, when not to use it, the various opinions of experienced SEOs, and other bits and pieces that you need to know to use it correctly.

Let us start with the basics, then we’ll get into some more advanced ideas and issues.

What is the canonical tag?

First of all, we can't seem to agree on what to call it. Rest assured that 'rel canonical', 'rel=canonical', 'rel canonical tag', 'canonical url tag', 'link canonical tag' and simply 'canonical tag' all refer to the same thing.

The canonical tag is a page level meta tag that is placed in the HTML header of a webpage. It tells the search engines which URL is the canonical  version of the page being displayed. It's purpose is to keep duplicate content out of the search engine index while consolidating your page’s strength into one ‘canonical’ page.

How is the canonical tag used?

The canonical tag is a relatively quick solution to resolve duplicate content. If your website generates and displays the same (or very similar) content on multiple URLs, the canonical tag could be used to bucket them together and assign one master (canonical) version. Lets look at a list of common duplicate content URLs.

  • http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm (the main page)
  • http://www.example.com/quality-wrenches.htm (oops! all pages also resolve with the www sub-domain)
  • http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm?ref=crazy-blog-lady (this looks like a way to track referral sources)
  • http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm?sort=price (how users view the products by lowest to highest price)
  • http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm/print (the ad-free and graphic light print version)

A canonical tag that references the main page, http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm, could be placed in the header of all of the above pages.

How is it implemented?

The canonical tag is part of the HTML header on a webpage. This is the same place where we put other fun SEO stuff like the title tag, meta description tag and the robots tag. The code, as in my example above, would look like this.

<link rel="canonical" href="http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm"/>

 Oh look, here's one in action!

CNN Rel Canonical Example
Source: CNN

Easy, right?! Companies with expensive development cycles love the canonical tag solution because it can be implemented relatively easily. It is often one straight-forward development project instead of dozens of more complicated ones.

This is all very exciting, I know, but there are some things you need to know.

There is usually a better solution

The canonical tag is not a replacement for a solid site architecture that doesn’t create duplicate content in the first place. There is almost always a superior solution to the canonical tag from a pure SEO best practice perspective.

Lets go through some of the URL examples I provided above, this time we'll talk about how to fix them without the canonical tag.

Example 1: http://www.example.com/quality-wrenches.htm

This is a duplicate version because our example website resolves with both the www version and the non-www version. If the canonical tag was used to pull the www version out of the index (keeping the non-www version as the canonical one) both versions would still resolve in the browser. With both versions still resolving, both versions can still continue to generate links.

A canonical tag, as with a 301 redirect, does not pass all of the link value from one page to another. It passes most of it, but not all. We estimate that the link value loss with either of these solutions is 1-10%. In this way, a 301 redirect and a canonical tag are the same.

I'd recommend a 301 redirect instead of a canonical tag.

www 301 to non-www

Why, you ask? A 301 redirect takes the link value loss hit once. Once a 301 is in place, a user never lands on the duplicate URL version. They are redirected to the canonical version. If they decide to link to the page, they are going to provide that link to the canonical version. No link love lost. Compare that to the canonical tag solution which keeps both URLs resolving and perpetuates the link value loss.

Example 2: http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm?ref=crazy-blog-lady

I get it. You want to know if it was worthwhile to send a sample wrench to the crazy blog lady for review. What happens when another blogger clicks through her link and then makes her own post about your products USING THE SAME URL? Your fancy tracking trick isn't so effective anymore, is it?

You'd be much better off to record that referral and then do a 301 redirect to the canonical URL version. Other web surfers will link to and share the appropriate URL and you won't be losing that 1-10% of your hard earned link love on an ongoing basis.

record the data, then 301

Example 3: http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm?sort=price

URLs like these occur when a webpage allows the user to sort search results based on various elements, such as price. For the purpose of this example, I'm going to assume that this search result page is more like a high quality landing page with some search results embedded. This way I don't have to get into the whole 'search results in search results' issue. :)

Rather than using the canonical tag here, I'd use the meta robots 'noindex' tag (which really means 'noindex,follow' because follow is implied as the default). This allows the search engines prioritized access to some of the most important pages linked from this one. By using the 'noindex' robots meta tag, the page will stay out of the search index but any link value will be passed through to the pages that are linked from this one.

Example 4: http://example.com/quality-wrenches.htm/print

If your website's print pages include a link back to the original page, you can use the meta robots 'noindex' tag here too. The page stays out of the index and any link value will be passed back to the original, canonical, web version of the page.

See how that works? I challenge you to hand me any duplicate content scenario and I'll be able to find you a solution that is better for your SEO program, at least from a pure SEO best practices standpoint, than the canonical tag.

I just know somebody is going to bring up the robots.txt file as a duplicate content solution. Before you do, remember that the robots.txt file is intended to block certain pages or directories from search engine indexing. It doesn't consolidate link juice, basically creates a dead end. Before you even think about using the robots.txt file for anything but a place to point to your XML Sitemap, you should check out my recent post on the topic, Serious Robots.txt Misuse & High Impact Solutions.

Still want to go with the canonical tag, because of reasons other than pure SEO? Perhaps your IT department isn't sitting on their thumbs waiting for your next massive SEO project?

A word, or two, of caution

1. Search Engine Support is Spotty, at Best

The level of search engine support for the canonical tag varies greatly. Google supports it on both single domains and across multiple domains. Bing considers the canonical tag a 'hint' and I haven't heard of any canonical tag implementations that have impacted the Bing index. Have you? Surely there has to be one...

2. There are Better Duplicate Content Fixes

Correcting the systems that generate duplicate content in the first place is the best solution. If that isn't possible, look to other solutions like 301 redirects and the meta noindex tag instead.

3. Incorrect Implementation can be a Disaster

If you are going to implement the rel canonical tag, please, please make sure it is correct before you launch. Take a look at Dr. Pete's recent post, Catastrophic Canonicalization, to read about his test. Not every website is as lucky as Dr. Pete in their recovery after a failed canonical tag implementation. We see examples of it all the time in Q&A.

Here are a few posts in favor of steering clear.

What Now?

The rel canonical tag has it's place. It is a big time saver for development. The solution isn't as solid as some of your other options but if it means being able to take action now to combat duplicate content instead of waiting until 2014, you should go for it. In other cases, your hosting solution may not allow you to implement 301 redirects at all and your hands are tied.

If you go the route of the rel canonical, please be careful with it! Test, test, test. If you have the choice and the resources to work through a more effective solution, perhaps you should go that route instead.

More Reading

If you haven't had enough on the rel canonical tag for one day, check out these useful links. As always, watch the dates on these!

Happy Optimizing!

P.S. Keyphraseology, my SEO consulting business, is looking for a great cause to help out with a pro bono site audit and some consulting hours. If you're a non-profit that could use some assistance with your search engine visibility, apply here.

image of the question mark fellow provided by Shutterstock


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Michael Gray - Graywolf's SEO Blog

Michael Gray - Graywolf's SEO Blog


Creating Head & Tail Content

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:36 AM PDT

Post image for Creating Head & Tail Content

Although I have mentioned head & tail content on this blog a few times, I haven’t devoted an entire post to it, which is probably an oversight on my part.

The first step in creating head and tail content is to create the tail pieces first. I went into some detail about this in the post keeping your articles focused. If you haven’t already read it, you probably should–if only so that this article makes the most sense. Once you have all or most of the tail content written, it’s time to think about the the head. While I’ll often use outsourced services for tail content (see textbroker.com review) for head pieces, I like to use higher quality writers, as this can sometimes become the flagship content of your website. You’ll want to have the writer read all the the tail sections and give them some ideas about how to link to them. You want links in the body with keyword rich anchor text (see how to silo the content); you don’t want “click here” used for anchor text.

look for ways to give tail pieces more than one head …
In some cases, your head content will be social content and not flagship content. In that case the only difference is that you’ll want to have offsite links mixed in as well. Social content that only links to pages on your website looks very self-serving. In some cases I will push a social piece with all external links then, after it’s run its course, I’ll edit the links and swap some of them for internal links to tail pieces.

Last, look for ways to give tail pieces more than one head. From the original example, let’s say you’ve written tail articles about “Visiting the Empire State Building.” You could create multiple head pieces like “Ten Must-See Destinations in NYC,” “Historical Skyscrapers in the Big Apple,” or “Family Friendly Destinations in New York City.” By giving these tail pieces more crawling points, you do a better job of interlinking your website. If your Head pieces are social pieces, this turns them into effective link hubs (see How to Diagnose and Improve Website Crawling)

So what are the takeaways from this post:

  • Start with writing tightly-focused tail posts
  • Tie the tail pieces together with an interlinked head post
  • Decide if your head piece will be flagship or social content, and add external links if it is social
  • Look for opportunities to to create more than one head to link to the tail pieces

Creative Commons License photo credit: cotaro70s

This post originally came from Michael Gray who is an SEO Consultant. Be sure not to miss the Thesis WordPress Theme review.

Creating Head & Tail Content

tla starter kit

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Daily Snapshot: Live Chat with Pete Souze on White House Photography

The White House Your Daily Snapshot for
Thursday, October 28, 2010
 

Open for Questions: Pete Souza on White House Photography

Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer and Director of the White House Photography Office, travels alongside President Obama to visually document each meeting, trip and encounter for historical record. Don't miss the live Open for Questions event with Pete Souza today at 7:00 p.m. EDT. He’ll be answering your questions -- from Flickr and Facebook -- about White House photography, his position, specific photos, and whatever else you come up with in a live video chat.

Photo of the Day

President Barack Obama waves to the audience after taping an interview for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., Oct. 27. 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time 

9:30 AM: The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing

11:15 AM: The Vice President chairs a regular meeting of senior officials to assess progress in Iraq

12:15 PM: Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs WhiteHouse.gov/live

2:40 PM: The President meets with some of the Americans involved in the Chilean mine rescue effort

2:50 PM: The President delivers remarks to the press WhiteHouse.gov/live

3:15 PM: The President receives the Economic Daily Briefing

5:00 PM: The Vice President attends an event for Representative Frank Kratovil in Bethesda, Maryland

7:00 PM: Open for Questions with Pete Souza WhiteHouse.gov/live

WhiteHouse.gov/live  Indicates Events that will be livestreamed on WhiteHouse.gov/live.

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog.

President Obama on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Check out a couple shots from the taping courtesy of the Photo Office.

Standing Up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Elizabeth Warren writes about the conversations she's having to make sure it gets done right.

Getting What They Expected
Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer on the news that Republicans in Congress and Washington lobbyists have been holding a blitz of meetings planning out the Republican agenda.

Behind the Scenes Video from the White House Science Fair
Check out the behind the scenes video from the first ever White House Science Fair including Bill Nye the Science Guy and hosts of Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage.
 

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SEOptimise

SEOptimise


Review – SiteVisibility Premium Podcast

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 03:04 AM PDT

A couple of months ago Kevin sent an email round the SEOptimise office looking for a volunteer/guinea pig to check out the Site Visibility Premium Podcast. As one of the newest members of the SEOptimise team I thought it would be a good opportunity to increase my knowledge and plus it would make a good subject for my first company blog post (so be nice).

I should probably admit to something first, while I absolutely love learning new stuff I do tend to have the attention span of a small child while reading things, which is a slight problem in an industry where there is loads to learn and lots of it can come from blog posts, so I am always up for different ways of learning.

With that little confession out of the way – on to the review.


Format

The good news (well for me at least) is that the Premium Podcast, as well as having a permanent home on the Site Visibility site, is also delivered as a bite size video/presentation hybrid of roughly 10 minutes and lands in your inbox every weekday afternoon. The videos are each specifically targeted at individual topics covering anything and everything from; PPC, SEO, blogging, affiliate programs and conversion through to anything else you want to suggest in the forum (on which the Site Visibility team are refreshingly active). Whatever the topic, there is usually a week long overriding theme, which this week is "what has digital done for…".

The best part is that whoever is presenting, usually Kelvin Newman – Site Visibility's Creative Director, explains everything in pretty much plain English combined with the occasional random seagull noise for good measure (I should probably make clear it is actually seagulls not the presenter).

As a bonus if you want to get your learning done on the go, as well as a video format where you can follow the practical stuff onscreen, there is also an audio only version available too.

Content
So who is going to benefit most from the podcasts? They will probably be of most use for people with beginner or intermediate SEO knowledge levels, affiliates looking for a boost or site owners who want to do their own SEO from scratch. Having said that even working for an agency with plenty of experience and knowledge it still had its benefits – it's always nice to see the tools and tactics that the other agencies employ and I dare say it would be a useful tool for getting new staff up to speed too.

For those of you who have, like me, sat through hours of conference presentations will know that the best presentations are the ones that give you something to take away and use. I always liken it to cars – I'd rather someone told me how to drive rather than how the engine works. So I was more than happy that each of the videos has something that you can actually take away and use, whether it's a tool to use, an approach to take or even the correct way to pronounce canonicalization.

Site & Extras
Overall the site is easy to navigate and it's not overly difficult to find podcasts you may have missed, although a better search function would be handy sometimes. On the plus side, judging from some of the forum threads from the Site Visibility team, they are always looking for suggestions for improvements that could be made so the site will continue to evolve. And since I'm on the topic of the forum, its worth checking out as there is a nice little community going on with plenty of discussion and it's a good place to pick Kelvin's brain and suggest what you want to hear on the next podcast.

Overall
Personally, I was impressed with the service. I consider myself to know a fair amount about SEO and I learnt a few different things and found a few new tools that have come in handy, so there will definitely be people out there who this will benefit a lot. And, for those of you like me who like your learning visual, bite size and with stuff to action afterwards it's definitely spot on.

If you fancy checking out for yourself visit the Podcast section on the Site Visibility site.

© SEOptimise – Download our free business guide to blogging whitepaper and sign-up for the SEOptimise monthly newsletter. Review – SiteVisibility Premium Podcast

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