Information on Basic Issues and Duplicate Content

Information Architecture

The document and link structure of a website can allow benefits to search rankings when executed properly. The keys to in effect architecture are to adopt the rules that regulate human usability of a site:

• Make Use of a Sitemap - It's wise to have the sitemap page linked to from every other page in the site, or at the least from significant high-level category pages and the home page. The sitemap should, ideally, offer links to all of the site's inner pages. However, if more than 100-150 pages exist on the site, a wiser system is to create a sitemap that will link to all of the category level pages, so that no page in a site is more than 2 clicks from the home page. For particularly large sites, this rule can be flourished to 3 clicks from the home page.

• Use a Category Structure that Flows from Broad > Narrow - Start with the widest topics as hierarchical category pages, and then elaborate to deep pages with specific topics. Using the most on-topic structure tells search engines that your site is highly relevant and covers a topic in-depth.

For more information on use of a sitemap see Webmaster Tools

Basic Issues & Duplicate Content

One of the most common and problematic issues for website builders, particularly those with larger, dynamic sites powered by databases, is the issue of repeated content. Search engines are primarily interested in unique documents and text, and when they find multiple instances of the same content, they are likely to select a single one as "Basic" and display that page in their results.

If your site has multiple pages with the same content, either through a content management system that creates duplicates through separate navigation, or because copies exist from multiple versions, you may be hurting those pages' chances of ranking in the SERPs. In addition, the value that comes from anchor text and link weight, through both internal and external links to the page, will be diluted by multiple versions.

One very common place to look for this error is on a site's homepage - oftentimes, a website will have the same content on i.e. http://www.url.com, http://url.com and http://www.url.com/index.html. That separation alone can cause lost link value and severely damage rankings for the site's homepage. If you find many links outside the site pointing to both the non-www and the www version, it may be wise to use a 301 re-write rule to affect all pages at one so they point to the other.