Duplicate url problem causing me problems
-
Hi, i am working with a joomla site and i am using the sh404sef plugin. I have contacted the developer of the plugin who has not been very helpful so i am hoping to get help here.
The problem i am having is, the description of the page showing in google listings is not the same as what i have put into the meta tag description.
for example, for this page
http://www.clairehegarty.co.uk/virtual-gastric-band-with-hypnotherapy
the meta tag description should be
Gastric Band Hypnotherapy to lose weight guaranteed. Free Gastric Band Hypnosis Consultations with Well Known Gastric Hypno Band expert as seen on TV. Hypno Gastric Band Works. We offer full support after your Gastric Band Hypnotherapy
but in google it is showing
Gastric Band Hypnotherapy Works. If you would like a slimmer and healthier body with all the benefits of weight loss surgery without any of the risks that can be ...
now one thing i have noticed is: in the sh404sef control panel, i have noticed that i have the following
index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=190&id=153&lang=en&view=article
the above is the original url from day one but then i have the one below which is not the original
index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=190&catid=150&id=153&lang=en&view=article
i keep deleting the above which is not the original but it keeps coming back and i have been told this could be the fault
can anyone please help me with this and solve how to stop it from coming back so google shows the correct description please.
-
I'm not an expert with Joomla by any means, but based on your original post you seem confidant as to what the description tag should be, but then its not showing up in the actual code, so I feel like something with your Joomla setup isn't working. Or possibly you have two plugins that are conflicting with one another?
-
hi, really do not understand, can you explain more please
-
Hey Diane, Just following up on Richards post, but I'm guessing theres something bigger going on with your Joomla plugins because your description tag is blank. I checked both of the "non pretty" url's and they are both directing to the same page with the same blank description. So I would be looking for a missing checkbox somewhere in the setup for this particular page.
-
Hi Diane, just seen you are a 'journeyman' status so apologies if its likely to me my previous comment was simply telling you what you already know!
Best of luck in finding a fix,
RIchard
-
Hi Diane
Looking at page you mention I cannot see a meta description - its blank - therefore Google has no choice but to try and pick the most appropriate words from the page.
Bear in mind their is no guarantee Google will display the meta description - it will either pick the description or copy from the page - depending on which it thinks is most appropriate for your search.
On its own the meta description does not influence your position, however by being a powerful marketing message opportunity the better written ones may get more clicks... so being more popular may improve the position.
Sorry I dont know my way around Joomla so others are better to help you with the exact fix however hope the above may help in the direction you go.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Duplicate Content issue in Magento: The product pages are available true 3 URL's! How can we solve this?
Right now the product page "gedroogde goji bessen" (Dutch for: dried goji berries) is available true 3 URL's! **http://www.sportvoeding.net/gedroogde-goji-bessen ** =>
Technical SEO | | Zanox
By clicking on the product slider on the homepage
http://www.sportvoeding.net/superfood/gedroogde-goji-bessen =>
First go to sportvoeding.net/superfood (main categorie) and than clicking on "gedroogde Goji bessen"
http://www.sportvoeding.net/superfood/goji-bessen/gedroogde-goji-bessen =>
When directly go to the subcategorie "Goji Bessen" true the menu and there clicking on "gedroogde Goji Bessen" We want to have the following product URL:
http://www.sportvoeding.net/superfood/goji-bessen/gedroogde-goji-bessen Does someone know´s a good Exetension for this issue?0 -
To 301 redirect or not to 301 redirect? duplicate content problem www.domain.com and www.domain.com/en/
Hello, If your website is getting flagged for duplicate content from your main domain www.domain.com and your multilingual english domain www.domain.com/en/ is it wise to 301 redirect the english multilingual website to the main site? Please advise. We've recently installed the joomish component to one of our joomla websites in an effort to streamline a spanish translation of the website. The translation was a success and the new spanish webpages were indexed but unfortunately one of the web developers enabled the english part of the component and some english webpages were also indexed under the multilingual english domain www.domain.com/en/ and that flagged us for duplicate content. I added a 301 redirect to redirect all visitors from the www.domain/en/ webpages to the main www.domain.com/ webpages. But is that the proper way of handling this problem? Please advise.
Technical SEO | | Chris-CA0 -
Standard Responses Causing Duplication Issues
Hi Guys We have a Q&A section on our site which we reply to customers using standard responses which have already been approved. This is causing a lot of duplication errors, however due to the nature of our business we need to use these responses. Is there anything that we can do to stop this? Matthew
Technical SEO | | EwanFisher0 -
URL structure
Hi, I am in the process of having a site created which will focus on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PS3 Vita. I would appreciate some advice when it comes to the URL structure. Each category mentioned above will have the following subsections News
Technical SEO | | WalesDragon
Reviews
Screenshots
Trailers Would the best url structure be? www.domain.com/xbox-360/news/news-story-headline
www.domain.com/ps3/reviews/ps3-game-name Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.0 -
Modifying urls cause broken links?
I want to modify my urls for the purpose of creating clean, informative urls that can be pasted directly for backlink purposes. Instead I have urls with long, garbled, strange characters. When I change the URL it breaks existing back links! Any way around this?
Technical SEO | | natearistotle0 -
How can i redirect a url that has % in it?
Google webmaster tools shows a 400 eroor for an old link that contains a 30% off in it. The problem is the % I would like to 301 redirect this link : http://www.geographics.com/Graduation-Stationery,-35%-OFF-Printable-Certificates-Blank-Gift-Certificates/c1353_1354_1359/index.html to http://www.geographics.com/Graduation-Stationery-Printable-Certificates-Blank-Gift-Certificates/c1353_1354_1359/index.html We do not know how to do this in httaccess. Can you please advise? Thanks a lot! Madlena
Technical SEO | | Madlena0 -
Mapping Internal Links (Which are causing duplicate content)
I'm working on a site that is throwing off a -lot- of duplicate content for its size. A lot of it appears to be coming from bad links within the site itself, which were caused when it was ported over from static HTML to Expression Engine (by someone else). I'm finding EE an incredibly frustrating platform to work with, as it appears to be directing 404's on sub-pages to the page directly above that subpage, without actually providing a 404 response. It's very weird. Does anyone have any recommendations on software to clearly map out a site's internal link structure so that I can find what bad links are pointing to the wrong pages?
Technical SEO | | BedeFahey0