Using custom file name creating duplicate content?

[tstamplis]

I've been setting up my store and very impressed with 3dcart I must say! One potential problem I notice though is in using the custom file function where you can create a custom file name for the URL. When I use a custom file for a category, I noticed that the category can be reached via the new filename as well as the old! I'm no SEO expert, but I'm pretty sure if the same page exists in two url places, that's a no-no!

Does anyone have any knowledge/experience on this subject? I would hate to use this feature if it causes duplicate content.

[3dCartRobb]

Actually, its perfectly fine. This snippet is from Google's page on duplicate content, located here: http://www.google.com/support/webmas...n&answer=66359


"Examples of non-malicious duplicate content could include:

* Discussion forums that can generate both regular and stripped-down pages targeted at mobile devices
* Store items shown or linked via multiple distinct URLs
* Printer-only versions of web pages"

[tstamplis]

Actually, its perfectly fine. This snippet is from Google's page on duplicate content, located here: http://www.google.com/support/webmas...n&answer=66359


"Examples of non-malicious duplicate content could include:

* Discussion forums that can generate both regular and stripped-down pages targeted at mobile devices
* Store items shown or linked via multiple distinct URLs
* Printer-only versions of web pages"

Thanks, very helpful. I have also wondered about the feed generator 3dcart uses. I was curious why it didn't use the SEO URL instead of the canonical one. I think based on the article this is not an issue with duplicate content, but it does seem you want to keep your URL's consistent to help with inbound links. If your inbound links are all the same (SEO or canonical) as your internal links I would think that would bolster that pages ranking more than if external links differed from internal ones. Any thoughts?

[Mark]

"Store items shown or linked via multiple distinct URLs"

This just isn't so with regards to Google. . We've been online for over four years and the indexing does indeed pass over duplicate content. So, you need to make significant changes if you offer the same product on different websites.

[tstamplis]

Notice another problem with SEO url's that seams to be against best practice:

Category URL's are completely different when going from page 1 to page 2 and back again etc... Example:

Inital link to category page:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28.html

URL when you click to 2nd page of listings for this category:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28-2-0.html

URL when you click previous page to return to page 1:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28-1-0.html

That's 3 different URL's. If you use category headers for content (who wouldn't right?!), then you have the bulk of your content being the same on 3 different pages (that's assuming you only have 2 pages of listings in that category!!). It's also 2 different URL's with EXACTLY the same content (inital category load page and page 1 after clicking previous from page 2).

It would be much better to use conanical URL's for 2nd and 3rd and so on category pages like this:

www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28.html?page=2

Opinions? Better yet, work-arounds?!!
UPDATE***
Wow, gets worse yet when you use the sort-by feature! Creates even MORE URL's for the same content. Am I wrong here or is this not quite right?

[GonzaloGil]

Inital link to category page:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28.html

URL when you click to 2nd page of listings for this category:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28-2-0.html

URL when you click previous page to return to page 1:
www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-Her_c_28-1-0.html

That's 3 different URL's.

no, that's 2 urls, the second one is "page 2" which has items on the second page so it wouldn't be the same as page 1.

Now, yes, on the breadcrumbs/paging (3rd url) you are taken back to a different url for page 1. This is because there are several parameters that we deal with on a category page, like sorting, which the software needs to know how to build the page. Now if you look at your link structure, you have tons of links to the "Gifts-For-Her_c_28.html" page (i assume you have a category menu, and that's on every page), but, for Gifts-For-Her_c_28-1-0.html there is far less links, (maybe just 1 if you happen to have small categories). So this won't cause much issues.

I will talk to the developers and see if we can hard code the page 1 link, since all it takes is to essentially use the same link as its on the menu. Other than that, there isn't much you can do, unless you just don't have paging.

[tstamplis]

That would be great as future request. I use category headers which have my desciption about the category nicely packed with good SEO content so that is why it is duplicated (the header portion only). The paging is the biggest issue and also the sorting. When you use the sorting feature, you also get a new url for the same page. A suggestion would be something like:

http://www.mydomain.com/Gifts-For-He...page=1&sort=20

This could resolve both issues. I would consider not using the paging but I'd still be stuck with the sorting unless I do away with that too. Have to ponder the pros and cons on that one:)

I've put some very extensive work into this new cart and I do have to say it is heads and shoulders above anything I've seen in the past. VERY NICE JOB to the 3dcart developers!!! I just found out you have Bing tracking pixels hard coded...now that is really sweet!

[GonzaloGil]

The querystring is something we want to avoid.
Before the HTML page names we had ASP page names and that's how it used to work, but, search engines did not like that very much.

Links were essentially the way you showed there, but .asp instead of .html.

Now, that was a few years ago,and things have changed, but, still, we would not mix a .html extension with passing parameters.

I think the fix you suggested were page 1 always redirects to the main category page, would solve the issue as that's the only page that would seem to be duplicated. Going to page2, 3, etc, the page names are different and content is different, even if its just the items changing, its a different page and there should be no issues there.