This document summarizes technical SEO issues and best practices for URL structures, redirects, duplicate and thin content. It provides guidance on properly handling redirects, avoiding cannibalization, structuring domains and URLs, and dealing with duplicate and thin content to avoid search engine penalties. Key recommendations include using 301 redirects, internal linking, and rewriting duplicate content rather than leaving it accessible to search engines.

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

3. The Classic 301
http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/redirection

4. 301s Used to Be a Solution to Penalties
https://twitter.com/#!/klark0/status/184303676477816832

5. 301 Rewrite Rules Make Life Easier
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/rewriterule-split-personality-explained

6. The Rel=Canonical
http://www.johnfdoherty.com/do-bing-and-google-treat-relcanonical-differently/

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

12. Keyword Cannibalization
How to Get the Right Page
Ranking for the Right Query

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

18. Domain Names,
Subdomains & Subfolders
Structuring Sites for Maximum
Marketing Effectiveness

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

20. Microsites
http://spyline.de/features/best-microsites-of-2008

21. 3rd-Party Hosting
https://plus.google.com/photos/112544075040456048636/albums/5683143713592220369

22. URL Structures
The Final Word on SEO Best
Practices for URLs

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

28. URL Rewriting Tools
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/url-rewrites-and-301-redirects-how-does-it-all-work

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