Phoenix, You seem to be SEO savvy, so to go one step deeper, shortened URL’s can be acheived by placing URL mod rewrites in the .htaccess file, and adding the code to appropriate pages. Every page still has a unique URL, but a url string such as this:
Also, duplicate content within the same domain does not have a negative impact on Google rankings. The duplicate content penaly is designed for content plagerized from other websites, and can cause pages not to be indexed, hold no rank, and in some cases even get the website banned. However, if 2 pages on the same website contain identical content, one of them will likely not rank or appear in search results.
The primary reason why vBulletin does things like -should-there-section-just-journals is to get the keywords into search engines. No offense, but in this case your advice is exactly wrong. Also, duplicate content on multiple pages -does- negatively effect rankings on some search engines, especially when parameters are not part of the link … http://blah.coml?parameterlist
I may not be one to talk, since my main website just dropped from a PR6 to a PR4 on the latest Google update, but I’m scrambling to see what the heck Googl’es done now, and what I have to do to get back.
The keywords can be found at the beginning of every thread and posting, and therefore are not needed in the URL.
As to duplicate content within a domain, that’s been debated quite a bit in several SEO forums, but the general consensus is that Google does not penalize the overall rankings of a website. However, individual pages containing duplicate content may not be indexed or ranked.
Really I don’t think there is a need to have duplicate url’s on the site at all.. there isn’t any benefit for google to have a shorter url at all…
So it’s a wasted effort with no net gains…
By the way, the above page is a Google page on the Google domain and has a Google Page Rank of 0. Step up one level to: Webmaster Help Center and the page has a Page Rank of 8.
Nobody said anything about having duplicate URL’s, which is actually quite impossible anyway.
Duplicate content on multiple urls is what I meant.
Anyway what Google says on its site isn’t the ultimate… you should know that… what’s important is what it actually does..
What is to be avoided is having TOO MANY SUBFOLDERS.. which we don’t have in our case (just one!), so there is no problem
“wouldn’t encourage anyone to place a file six subfolders deep if it could be avoided”
“You can use long url.” Shorter url = higher ranking?
What’s bad is what Google is referring to, a long url with a ‘?’ for parameters, which clearly isn’t the case here…
In taking a look, the journal pages are ranking very well on Google now, and as you said earlier, there’s no net gains to be achieved in changing how the URL’s appear. I have learned that you don’t try to fix something if it’s not broken. So, I bow down to Tater and Phoenix’s wisdom, and agree that nothing should be changed.
You are right in stating that “what Google says on its site isn’t the ultimate”. However, a good policy to follow is: If you want to rank well on Google, it is generally best to follow their advice.
The ? is used to call dynamic information, which is being done for this forum, but a server mod rewrite is being used to convert the page to appear as static.
Also, on the duplicate content issue, in a forum situation such as this, where some users will use the same phrasing to welcome new members and describe product effects in multiple threads, you really cannot avoid duplicate content.
Anyway, both you guys obviously know your SEO, do either of you work in the industry?
One thing I have discovered is that information is of little value if you can’t find it. I feel a seperate spot for journals is a good idea actually. Get’s em all in one place. I’m for it.
And Tisha/SteveO
Are these Tisha’s Honey Buns that you have in mind?: