Pete wrote:
I guess what we are talking about here is Search Engine
Optimization
for Dynamic Websites? A subject that has always confused me:
http://www.searchengine-optimization-guru.com/search-engine-optimizati
on-dynamic-websites.html
Is that really what we are talking about? Whether true or
not, IMO the search engines' disinclination to index URLs
with query strings, as is mentioned in that document,
emphasizes the sensible in having them index the target URLs instead.
Dynamic queries generally are intended to change. Sometimes they change
As often as every single display of a web page. This is why most search
Engines tend to frown on these kind of pages. This is especially true
Of queries that include a session id or some such thing.
Maybe I should try to summarize the questions I would
appreciate your comments on:
1) Do you *agree* that it is preferrable that the search
engines register the URLs that 'next', 'prev', 'rand', 'goto'
and 'home' links redirect *to* rather than registering the
dynamic Ringlink URLs?
Yes this would be far preferable.
2) Do you agree on my 'theories', as stated in my original
post, on which measures should be taken to achieve 1)?
301 redirect is the way to go in my opinion.
Some additional notes on SEO:
1) the anchor text is important. A link should include, between the A tags,
some
Text which is descriptive. Seach engines use this text and depend upon
It heavily to determine the theme of a web site. Thus, an anchor text of
"next" is practically useless as far as SEO is concerned. This is one of the
Reasons why rings don't much for a site's ranking in a search engine - bad
Anchor text (and no practical way to include useful text here).
2) Never use the meta refresh tag. This is a frequent spamming technique.
Especially with q quick refresh rate (say a second).
3) There is a known spamming technique known as 301 hijacking in which
A web site an "hijack" another web sites listing in a search engine. It's
Pretty trivial to do. Search engines may begin frowning on some uses
Of 301. I'll see if I can find an article or two about it.
4) Search engines do not do a good job of following javascript-type links
In general. Thus, webring.org's server side code probably does not
Do much for SEO. It probably doesn't hurt either - but more because
Webring is so minor in the scheme of things that it hasn't even been
Noticed.
5) If you include in the webring fragment some good anchor text for
The ring homepage or hub page, it WILL help in the search engines.
But only for the homepage or hub page. Anchor text of "Quotations
About life and living" would be better than "quotation ring". "Click
Here to join the ring" is very lame anchor text. "Join the Quotation
Ring" is better. 'Submit your site to "The Quotation ring"' with the
Anchor text just being "Quotation Ring" is even better. The closer
You can make the anchor text to the topic of your site, the more
You will help your site in the search engines.
6) I would suspect, although I have little objective evidence, that
Your typical webring pages are simply ignored by search engines. They
May consider them spam. Actually, they are spam. In fact, the webring
Stack could very well be considered spam, if webring ever got on the
Radar at one of the big search engines. Technically speaking, it could be
Considered a type of "link farm" which is a spamming technique that will
Get a site banned from search engines forever. However, I doubt that
Webring is considered important enough to worry about.
Richard