Using differing calls to action based on IP address
-
Hi,
We have an issue with a particular channel on a lead generation site where we have sales staff requiring different quality of leads in different parts of the country. In saturated markets they require a stricter lead qualification process than those in more challenging markets.
To combat the problem I am toying with the idea of severing very slightly different content based on IP address. The main change in content would be in terms of calls to action and lead qualification processes.
We would plan to have a "standard" version of the site for when IP location can not be detected. URLs on this version would be the rel="canonical" for the location specific pages.
Is there a way to do this without creating duplicate content, cloaking or other such issues on the site?
Any advice, theories or case studies would be greatly appreciated.
-
Hi Gareth,
Thanks for the Googlebot info. Still concerned with cloaking content but will look into it in more detail.
Thanks again
-
Why don't you just block the other pages, so you only have your standard canonical page being indexed? You can then cloak the content by IP, but remember Googlebot always crawls from the US so make sure it is seeing the standard version.
-
Hi Highland,
Thanks for responding. The offering is the same in each location it's just the way we process the leads differs. For example, in Los Angeles / London we get lots of leads - almost too many for the regional sales staff to handle so they try to pre-qualify the leads. In the mid-west / Scotland the sales staff have to nurture the leads so are happy with a phone number.
For another stream on the site we are targeting local segments but this particular element has a national approach.
Thanks for your input.
-
I would create your content with distinct URLs and canonical to the generic if you feel it is too duplicate.
Example, make the following URLs and use a redirect with your geolocation
domain.com/houston
domain.com/los-angeles
domain.com/midwest
domain.comIf I were you, I would make all of these distinct pages with unique content rather than making them canonical. This way you can optimize lots of local searches in addition to the general ones. Canonical is more for people who already have duplicate content. It sounds like you want to make new content. Played right, you could go after lots of local traffic that might be untapped.
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
-
Cross domain canonical for different branded sites
Hi everyone, We are working on 5 websites that offer the same products but are of different brands and locations. They are owned by the same company, but each run independently. On the sites, they have content such as privacy policies, terms and conditions and guides that are the same across all brands. Will publishing these be flagged as duplicate content by Google? If yes, is it recommended to add rel=canonical to all duplicate pages across all sites pointing to one of the five? We are just concerned that the 4 sites with duplicate content would be valued less than the canonical as a result of passed link equity. We are doing SEO optimisations for all and are trying to rank them well in SERPs. If a canonical is not the best solution here, what would be the best to do apart from completely rewriting content? Is it noindex tag or turning the texts into images and adding to PDFs? Thank you.
Technical SEO | | nhhernandez1 -
Different meta descriptions for same page
Hi Depending what terms I put into Google I am seeing a different meta description for exactly the same page. I have checked Umbraco CMS and everything seems in working order. Is there a reason this would be happening? Anyone else had trouble like this?
Technical SEO | | TheZenAgency0 -
Using a single sitemap for multiple domains
We have a possible duplicate content issue based on the fact that we have a number of websites run from the same code base across .com / .co.uk / .nl / .fr / .de and so on. We want to update our sitemaps alongside using the href lang tags to ensure Google knows we've got different versions of essentially the same page to serve different markets. Google has written an article on tackling this:https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/75712?hl=en but my question remains whether having a single sitemap accessible from all the international domains is the best approach here or whether we should have individual sitemaps for each domain.
Technical SEO | | jon_marine0 -
Is “Bad IP Neighborhood” Theory still relevant?
Hi, I want to hear if there are any who believe that "Bad IP Neighborhood" Theory is still relevant? Find more information here: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/does-google-safebrowsing-prove-bad-ip-neighborhood-theory/10702/ Best regards, Jonathan
Technical SEO | | JoLinda911 -
Have I done enough seo on this page to make a difference
Hi, my home page has been a thorn in my side for as long as i remember. On normal sites i am ok with seo but when it comes to my magazine site it is a whole new ball game as everything is different. I have been working with a developer who has told me to remove the intro to the site on the home page and to move the bottom of the site which was about the magazine but i am not sure if this is right. I want the site to rank well for the following Lifestyle Magazine now before our upgrade, we ranked well for this and other words, we were number one for a very long time and then stayed on the first page but now since the upgrade, i am jumping from page 9, 10, to six and not sure why that is happening. I would like to know if the advice i have been given is correct, have i done enough on the page to rank well for lifestyle magazine, or should i be doing what i have been taught previously where i should be having an intro to the site so google can pick up the words lifestyle magazine and other words. the site is www.in2town.co.uk many thanks for your input
Technical SEO | | ClaireH-1848860 -
What keywords should i be using to promote my site
Hi i am looking to promote my home page which is a lifestyle magazine www.in2town.co.uk and i am not sure what keywords i should be using to promote it. I am doing ok for the keyword lifestyle magazine but i am struggling on what other keywords i should be using to get people to the home page of the magazine. The magazine is nearly finished and we still have a couple of finishing touches to do but the basics of the magazine is as follows holiday and travel news, soap gossip, celebrity gossip, product reviews, lingerie brands, gastric band hypnotherapy, health, fashion and beauty and holiday reviews. I want the home page to be the main page where everyone visits but i am not sure what i should be doing to accomplish this. Any ideas would be of a great help
Technical SEO | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Does Google follow a text based URL with no anchor tags?
I am seeing with Webmaster Tools that Google is trying to follow the text based truncated URL from SuperPages despite the fact that they are not in an anchor tag. The net result for Google is a 404 error as they try to access pages that do not exist. has anyone seen this issue before and any suggestions on how to prevent these errors? A Superpage listing: The first link works fine, but the text based link shown below is cut off and as a result Google gets to a 404 page. http://swbd-out.superpages.com/webresults.htm?qkw=dr+hylton+lightman&qcat=web&y=0&x=0& Dr. Hylton Lightman, MD - Pediatrician, Allergist, - Far Rockaway ... Dr. Hylton Lightman, MD, Far Rockaway, NY, Rated 4/4 By Patients. 26 Reviews, Patients' Choice Award Winner, Phone Number & Practice Locations www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Hylton_Lightma... [Found on Bing]
Technical SEO | | irvingw0 -
What link tracking solution do you use?
What solution do you use to keep track of links that you have acquired or purchased?
Technical SEO | | qlkasdjfw0