1. Technical SEO Face-Off
How to handle some of the nastiest, most common
technical SEO issues in web development & marketing.
Rand Fishkin | CEO
http://bit.ly/mozseotech2012
2. Redirects of All Kinds
How to Move
Content, Sites, Users &
Engines
7. Cross-Domain Canonical
Cross-domain canonical
took <48 hours to work
Whoa… Dharmesh +1’d
the new domain, not the
old one. Interesting.
8. The Temporary 302
If Bing crawls a 302
redirect five times, it
begins to treat the 302
(temporary) redirect as if it
were a permanent redirect
(301). We’ve observed
similar behavior from
Google.
Don’t use the 302 as a permanent tool/solution as engines may change how they interpret it.
9. The Meta Refresh
Google picked up the meta refresh immediately, Bing took several months, and still displays the old URL
10. Javascript-Based Redirection
Hey! Isn’t that a “sneaky”
javascript redirect?
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66355
11. The CSS Overlay
Many websites that require age/location verification use overlays to get input prior to access
13. Why Cannibalization Hurts
I really wish this page
was #1 for this phrase
Multiple pages targeting the same keywords can cause dilution of relevancy
14. The Content Targeting Solution
http://pro.seomoz.org/tools/on-page-keyword-optimization
15. The Internal Linking Solution
Identifying the links that point to the content and the anchor text they use internally can be helpful
16. The External Link Reclamation Solution
Getting external links to change their anchor text or surrounding text can help, too
17. The 301 + Re-Build Solution
Page You Want Ranking Well
Currently Ranking Page
for This Query
http://website.com/oldurl
http://website.com/targetpage
New Version of OldURL
Take the
http://website.com/newurl content from
this page and
recreate it
here.
This tactic can help when all else fails (particularly if external link signals are very strong
19. Root Domains, Subdomains & Subfolders
www.website.com Any positive
SEO signals on
www.website.com/folder/page1 these will help
the others
rank, too.
www.website.com/otherfolder/page2
blog.website.com Positive SEO
signals to
this one might
www.website.com/content not help
this one or
files.website.com/whitepaper this one.
Same root domain and subfolder is almost always the way to go in SEO
23. Rules #1-2 for Great URLs
#1: Make the Content Obvious from the URL
Not Obvious: website.com/s/wm_bts773A
Obvious: website.com/shoes/womens-boots
#2: Avoid URL Parameters of Any Kind
Parameters: website.com/recipe?q=chicken&t=cordon+bleu
Nice & Clean: website.com/recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu
If shown without context/anchor text, the link’s content should still be obvious.
24. Rules #3-4 for Great URLs
#3: Shorter is Better; Maximum of 66 Characters
Too Long: website.com/cars/mercedes-benz/2009/models/sedans/c-class-coupe/full-options
Just Fine: website.com/mercedes-benz/c-class-coupe
#4: Separate Words with Hyphens, or + If Necessary
Bad Separators: website.com/mercedes&%20benz
Good Separators: website.com/mercedes-benz
Long URLs get clipped, and those with bad separators may appear less-click-worthy
25. Rules #5-6 for Great URLs
#5: Keywords Closer to the Front of the URL is Ideal
Less Ideal: website.com/products/electronics/2275/thin-laptops
More Ideal: website.com/electronics/thin-laptops
#6: Keep Folder-Depth to a Minimum, Yet Still Organized
Disorganized: website.com/electronics-laptops-cables-samsung-power-cord
Smart Folders: website.com/electronics/laptops/samsung-power-cord
Neat, clean URLs perform better in social, search, links and sharing of all kinds
26. When is Rewriting Worth It?
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/bing-vs-google-prominence-of-ranking-elements
27. Absolute vs. Relative URLs
<a href=“http://website.com/page>anchor text</a>
When absolute URLS get scraped
(especially in RSS content), the links will
point back and sometimes provide a boost.
<a href=“../page>anchor text</a>
Relative URLs can make development and
migrations easier, but don’t help with the
scraping side effect on links.
https://plus.google.com/u/1/104591903036738260658/posts/3XSM37yuxYL
29. Duplicate & Thin Content
Fighting Indexation, Crawl
Issues, Penalties and a Big Fat
Panda
30. Straight Duplicates are Easy
http://searchengineland.com/search-illustrated-how-a-search-engine-determines-duplicate-content-13980
31. Modified Duplicates are Hard
Some material is duplicative, other stuff is unique; that makes this challenging
32. Making Duped Material Engine Inaccessible
If you have “boilerplate” content that everyone’s using, consider making that inaccessible to engines (or rewriting it)
33. Thin Content’s Really Hard
This is the best image I could find for this slide. I’m sure you will agree.
34. FYI: These are Thin Mints
It’s still funny, even though I have to explain it, right?
35. A Litmus Test for “Thin” Content
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/replicate-googles-panda-questionnaire-whiteboard-friday
36. Keep Thin Out of the Index
404’ing may work better than noindex to help get out of a Panda situation
37. Content w/o User Signals Can Hurt
http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2012/02/find-thin-content/
38. Tools Can Help You Make Thin Thick
http://www.mediapiston.com/ is an excellent starting point
39. Rand Fishkin | CEO
@randfish
www.seomoz.org/blog
rand@seomoz.org
http://bit.ly/mozseotech2012