the link canonical tag: good guy or bad guy? by adam audette - smx advanced 2009
DESCRIPTION
Is the link canonical tag a good guy wearing a white hat, or a bad guy wearing a black hat? This presentation discusses usage of the link canonical, and includes plenty of Bonanza for good measure.TRANSCRIPT
The Link Canonical TagThe Link Canonical Tag
Adam AudetteSEO with Many Hats
The Link Canonical TagThe Link Canonical Tag
Adam AudetteSEO with Many Hats
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There’s a new gun in town!There’s a new gun in town!
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(Just don’t wear it like Joe)(Just don’t wear it like Joe)
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I’m the SEO with many hatsI’m the SEO with many hats
(and they’re all white)
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Brief BackgroundBrief Background
• 2nd generation search marketer
• John Audette, Outrider
• President at AudetteMedia, Inc
• Search Marketing Boutique
• Oversee SEO at Zappos
• With Zappos since 2001
• Lead SEO Strategy for International Agency
• Key partnership with AudetteMedia
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““That new link canonical guy looks That new link canonical guy looks cool!”cool!”
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““What’s the latest on Sphinn...?”What’s the latest on Sphinn...?”
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““Just a sec, I gotta tweet that lunch Just a sec, I gotta tweet that lunch we had....”we had....”
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The Link Canonical TagThe Link Canonical Tag
• It’s a tad confusing
• For duplicate content, but...
• ...can be used in other creative ways
• It has potential to break your site
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The GoodThe Good
• Darn easy to implement
• Appears to work
• Allegedly passes anchor text and PR
• Useful for faceted / sorted URLs
• Can be good for temporary fixes
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The BadThe Bad
• Like a ‘poor man’s’ 301
• Powerful + New/Untested + Easy to implement = Potential for FAIL
• Not a replacement for fundamental URL structure
• Doesn’t actually solve duplicate content
• May be better to redirect
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Watch out for “Mr Bad Guy”Watch out for “Mr Bad Guy”
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““The name’s LC...”The name’s LC...”
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““Pa, LC’s got me all tied up!”Pa, LC’s got me all tied up!”
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““It says here comment tags work It says here comment tags work good for SEO!”good for SEO!”
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““Aw crap, printing out twitter feeds Aw crap, printing out twitter feeds just don’t work!!”just don’t work!!”
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Ideas & Examples from the FieldIdeas & Examples from the Field
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• ZFC URL handler
• Does fancy stuff with URLs
• But duplicate content will still happen
• And doesn’t address certain scenarios
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• Possibly deploying link canonical:
• Plurals
• Faceted / sorted URLs
• Sub-domains
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• Possible link canonical usage:
• Artist pages (PageRank split)
• Main Category Pages
• Temporary solutions
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125 backlinks
120 backlinks
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• Possible deployment:
• Sub-domains
• reviews.motosport.com
• answers.motosport.com
• motocross.motosport.com
• etc...
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• Google can use it:
• http://directory.google.com/alpha/Top/Shopping/Clothing/Footwear/
• http://directory.google.com/Top/Shopping/Clothing/Footwear/
• http://www.google.com/alpha/Top/Shopping/Clothing/Footwear/
• http://www.google.com/Top/Shopping/Clothing/Footwear/
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What if…What if…
• What if a redesign was being deployed in ~6 months?
• What if you needed some quick-wins?
• What if URLs were going to change?
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““Try it... if ya got the guts!”Try it... if ya got the guts!”
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www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes = 200
Link canonical target = www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes(sort of a 301)
200404301302
The search result updatesThe search result updates
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www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes = 404
Link canonical target = www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes(sort of a 301)
200
404301302
Probably a bad ideaProbably a bad idea
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www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes = 301
Link canonical target = www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes(sort of a 301)
200 - finished404 - bad idea
301302
Canonical target301 redirects back toparent URL
Does this create a loop?Does this create a loop?
www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
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www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes = 302
Link canonical target = www.mydomain.com/ride-bikes(sort of a 301)
200 - best case404 - bad idea301 - loop?
302Canonical target302 redirects back toparent URL
Search result should remainSearch result should remain
www.mydomain.com/catID/detail.asp?ID=42&nav=sidebar%22_ref
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““Rescue me from LC’s trap!”Rescue me from LC’s trap!”
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““Let’s redirect the old way from Let’s redirect the old way from now on, Joe.”now on, Joe.”
Thank you!Thank you!
Adam Audette@audette
www.audettemedia.com
Thank you!Thank you!
Adam Audette@audette
www.audettemedia.com