There are several reasons why web pages don’t appear in search results even with optimization. One reason may be when the content appears to be duplicated or the same URL as other content when filtered by search engines. If there is duplicate content from the same URL, the search engines are confused as to which version is the original content. This could lead to particular pages not being indexed as the spiders have already found the same content under different web addresses. So it is very important when handling Houston Search Engine Optimization to learn about the different types of duplicate website content.
What is it?
This happens when content appear more than one time in different web addresses or URLs. The identical content could be an essential component that is precisely matching or nearly alike the original. Search engines such as Google can penalize, ban or decrease the relevancy score resulting in a lower ranking or even worse not displaying the page since the spiders have already found the best answer to the query.
There are also non-malicious or unintentional forms as well as deceptive methods of duplication. Non-malicious forms include printer-friendly versions, discussion forums, versions made intentionally for hand-held devices, and product offerings links in various URLs. On the flip side, Houston search engine optimization firms advise that intentional ways include deceptive attempts to manipulate search results or generate tremendous traffic otherwise known as spamming.
Types
Specifically, search engines identify four different types of content duplication that were developed by filtering or carefully evaluating the URLs collected by the spiders.
- Affiliate Sites – Websites known as affiliates may have the same identical information as the original including similar landing pages.
- Harvested Information – This is known as web scraping, a technique that collects data from different websites and integrate them into one. The information may appear different but in reality is the same as the original, just rearranged.
- Identical Product Descriptions – This is a common problem with e-commerce websites that copy the description from the manufacturer to promote the online product on their website; however, Google recommends creating archetype product descriptions to avoid the ‘farmer’s algorithm’ which is intended to devalue websites engaged in content farming and copying the manufacturer’s description.
- Spun Articles – This is a sensitive issue and can be penalized by Google. Article spinning is a good way to strengthen contextual back links; however, Google treats this matter seriously because some content is copyright protected and infringes on others’ rights could lead to criminal charges if caught.
Google and other search engines are trying to provide the most accurate and relevant search results to internet searchers. So they must filter and evaluate web pages being crawled by the spiders to eliminate matching results in response to a query. These duplicate filters can be described as a penalty because proper ranking is denied by not receiving appropriate consideration.
On the other hand, duplicate filter for others may have little or no impact other than for companies offering products for sale. Then it is more of a nuisance by confusing loyal customers and prospective buyers. It can also impact the performance of a website by affecting the crawl rate. Learning about duplicate content is the best way to ensure that this issue is avoided on a website so that optimization can achieve all of the desired results!
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