3 Comments

1. 

   May 27, 2012 at 4:41 pm

   Siddig Abdelkarim

   Google Penguin Update: Don’t Forget About Duplicate Content

   So it’s about quality guidelines. Cutts was pretty clear about that, and that’s why we’ve been discussing some of the various things Google mentions specifically in those guidelines. So far, other than:

   • – Cloaking
   • – Links
   • – Hidden text and links
   • – Keyword stuffing

   Another thing on the quality guidelines list is: “Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.”

   Of course, like the rest of the guidelines, this is nothing new, but in light of the Penguin update, it seems worth examining the guidelines again, if for no other reason than to provide reminders or educate those who are unfamiliar. Duplicate content seems like one of those that could get sites into trouble, even when they aren’t intentionally trying to spam Google. Even Google says in its help center article on the topic, “Mostly, this is not deceptive in origin.”

   “However, in some cases, content is deliberately duplicated across domains in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings or win more traffic,” Google says. “Deceptive practices like this can result in a poor user experience, when a visitor sees substantially the same content repeated within a set of search results.”

   Google lists the following as steps you can take to address any duplicate content issues you may have:

   • – Use 301s: If you’ve restructured your site, use 301 redirects (“RedirectPermanent”) in your .htaccess file to smartly redirect users, Googlebot, and other spiders. (In Apache, you can do this with an .htaccess file; in IIS, you can do this through the administrative console.)
   • – Be consistent: Try to keep your internal linking consistent. For example, don’t link to http://www.example.com/page/ and http://www.example.com/page and http://www.example.com/page/index.htm.
   • – Use top-level domains: To help us serve the most appropriate version of a document, use top-level domains whenever possible to handle country-specific content. We’re more likely to know that http://www.example.de contains Germany-focused content, for instance, than http://www.example.com/de or http://de.example.com.
   • – Syndicate carefully: If you syndicate your content on other sites, Google will always show the version we think is most appropriate for users in each given search, which may or may not be the version you’d prefer. However, it is helpful to ensure that each site on which your content is syndicated includes a link back to your original article. You can also ask those who use your syndicated material to use the noindex meta tag to prevent search engines from indexing their version of the content.
   • – Use Webmaster Tools to tell us how you prefer your site to be indexed: You can tell Google your preferred domain (for example, http://www.example.com or http://example.com).
   • Minimize boilerplate repetition: For instance, instead of including lengthy copyright text on the bottom of every page, include a very brief summary and then link to a page with more details. In addition, you can use the Parameter Handling tool to specify how you would like Google to treat URL parameters.
   • – Avoid publishing stubs: Users don’t like seeing “empty” pages, so avoid placeholders where possible. For example, don’t publish pages for which you don’t yet have real content. If you do create placeholder pages, use the noindex meta tag to block these pages from being indexed.
   • – Understand your content management system: Make sure you’re familiar with how content is displayed on your web site. Blogs, forums, and related systems often show the same content in multiple formats. For example, a blog entry may appear on the home page of a blog, in an archive page, and in a page of other entries with the same label.
   • – Minimize similar content: If you have many pages that are similar, consider expanding each page or consolidating the pages into one. For instance, if you have a travel site with separate pages for two cities, but the same information on both pages, you could either merge the pages into one page about both cities or you could expand each page to contain unique content about each city.

   Don’t block Google from duplicate content. Google advises against this, because it won’t be able to detect when URLs point to the same content, and will have to treat them as separate pages. Use the canonical link element (rel=”canonical”).

   Note: there are reasons why Google might skip your Canonical link elements.

   It’s important to note that Google doesn’t consider duplicate content to be grounds for penalty, unless it appears that it was used in a deceptive way or to manipulate search results. However, that seems like one of those areas, where an algorithm might leave room for error.

2. 

   May 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm

   Siddig Abdelkarim

   Google Penguin Updated To Version 1.1

   Google’s Penguin update has been somewhat divisive in the search industry. There have been Web sites that were negatively impacted by the update while Google says that Penguin was a success. One of the most persistent rumors, however, has been Google pushing out an update to Penguin. That never seemed to be the case.

   It’s not immediately clear what the update covers or fixes from the original launch of Penguin back in April. A few legitimate sites claimed to have been hit by Penguin and lost traffic as a result. One theory is that the Penguin 1.1 is meant to address those legitimate sites that were targeted.

   If you recall, Penguin has been billed as Google’s method of cutting down on Web spam and other nefarious parts of the Web. One of the main concerns that Penguin addressed was the use of backlinks. It was found that sites being linked to by lesser quality sites were affected by Penguin as well. This led to Chris Crum reporting on a new method that had these sites threatening to sue other sites over their use of backlinks. Nobody wants to have poor quality sites linking to them in this post-Penguin world, but linking isn’t illegal. That leaves the threat of a lawsuit the only option for those sites that rely on search to get traffic.

   It remains to be seen if the newest Penguin update has had any kind of effect on search. It might have been a smart on Google’s part to release the update on Memorial Day weekend to avoid any major outcry. It leaves them a few more days to work out any minor kinks that may be in the algorithm.

   It’s highly possible that the update doesn’t contain anything that is Web shattering. Google is remaining mum on the details for this update. We’ll probably have to wait until the next update on algorithm changes to find out.

3. 

   May 27, 2012 at 4:19 pm

   Siddig Abdelkarim

   Google Penguin Update: There Hasn’t Been One Since The First One

   There has been some chatter speculating that Google may have launched another Penguin update. That’s not the first time this has happened since the original one, and it will surely not be the last, but rest assured, there has only been one Penguin update so far.

   A Google spokesperson said: “There hasn’t been an update since the first one.”

   It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

   Of course, one Googler recently said that Google didn’t even have anything called Penguin, so I guess you can never be 100% sure.

   That said, I’m pretty confident that this particular Googler is right. Even the speculation about the possible update has been mixed. Some are attributing traffic dips to the holiday weekend.

   There’s also the fact that Google makes changes every day. We should soon be seeing the big list for the month of May.

   In the meantime, you’d probably do well to focus on making your site and content as good as they can be, and keep it all within Google’s quality guidelines. Also, try to make sure if you hire an agency to do your SEO, that they’re not engaging in any paid linking on your behalf.

   You can still expect Penguin to be coming back around sooner or later.

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