Spiders like Googlebot choke on Session IDs
Many ecommerce sites have session IDs or user IDs in the URL of their pages. This tends to cause either the pages to not get indexed by search engines like Google, or to cause the pages to get included many times over and over, clogging up the index with duplicates (this phenonemon is called a “spider trap”). Furthermore, having all these duplicates in the index causes the site’s importance score, known as PageRank, to be spread out across all these duplicates (this phenonemon is called “PageRank dilution”).
Ironically, Googlebot regularly gets caught in a spider trap while spidering one of its own sites – the Google Store (where they sell branded caps, shirts, umbrellas, etc.). The URLs of the store are not very search engine friendly: they and are overly complex, and include session IDs. This has resulted in 3,440 duplicate copies of the Accessories page and 3,420 copies of the Office page, for example.
If you have a dynamic, database-driven website and you want to avoid your own site becoming a spider trap, you’ll need to keep your URLs simple. Try to avoid having any ?, &, or = characters in the URLs. And try to keep the number of “parameters” to a minimum. With URLs and search engine friendliness, less is more.
Chapter 6:
Keyword Research
From the fundamentals of link building to the nuances of natural linking patterns, virality, and authority.
Related Posts
Embrace Journaling, Tackle Tardiness, and Explore Our Energetic Echo
Here’s what I found inspirational, challenging, or just downright hilarious this week. What caught your eye? And, remember to check out this week’s great podcast episodes: Scaling a SaaS Company with Jason Morehouse “A crucial factor to business success is to find and take the personal path that works best for you.” — Jason Morehouse […]
Read More
Harrison’s harmony, conquering a blank canvas, & gut health hacks
Here’s what I found inspirational, challenging, or just downright hilarious this week. What caught your eye? And, remember to check out this week’s great podcast episodes: Be a Sales Game Changer with Fred Diamond “True elite sales professionals develop a dedicated mindset, proactive client interaction, and continuous self-preparation. They understand their client’s needs and enable […]
Read More
Rebirth of sleeper trains, 4,000 weeks is a long/short time, and golden age for medicine
Here’s what I found inspirational, challenging, or just downright hilarious this week. What caught your eye? And, remember to check out this week’s great podcast episodes: A Story Worth Retelling with Luke Storey “Aligned values are the cornerstone of successful partnerships, whether in business or life, as they shape our moral code, define our priorities, […]
Read More
