Need help deciding how to display directory listings in way Google will like best
-
My blog site currently has maybe 100 posts and I do about 7-8 new a week. I am creating a directory for an this site, which will end up eventually being a few hundred or more entries eventually.
In the directory browse/search listing, each directory listing will have a title and a short description (one or two lines) and will show about 10-20 per page. And then the user can click an entry to see more details for the particular directory listing.
This is where I have a choice, and I want to know what is the best for my site, in Google's eyes of course.
Options:
1. The listing detail is displayed on a separate page.
2. The listing detail is displayed below the entry that was clicked, on the same page, by use of jquery to slide down the other content blow it to make room for it. (It actually looks slick, I've tried it).
If I were writing full, unique pages for each listing detail, I'd choose option #1. But the vendors are submitting the content. It's possible they might just copy and paste their site's About page into it, or they might not even add any more detail other than their address. I can't control it.
So, if going with option #1, let's say a third of the vendors add nice unique content, a third paste in some dup content, and a third just leave it blank (there would still be an address, couple line short description, and a title on the page). Would this situation be good, not good or neutral for my site?
I'm not sure if adding additional pages, maybe half to two-thirds of which could be somewhat duped or of minimal word length would be bad or neutral for my site overall. As for my existing and ongoing blog pages--they are all unique, long and Google seems to love them.
-
Good quetions.
"Why are you creating a directory for your blog?"
I already have a hand-made beginning of a directory of sorts--the major majors in some major categories. It is desirable on the site as it is a new industry and not everyone knows all the players. So, I am doing it to serve my readership and of course to then increase backlinks and visits to the site.
"Is the blog an industry specific blog of some type?"
Yes, it's specific, and it's a hot new industry with new vendors almost daily.
"What are you hoping to gain from having the directory?"
Backlinks and traffic. It's not really to get ad clicks on those page, but of course that would be nice. There really is no other good directory for this industry now.
"Is it something they pay for or do you allow them to be on it for free?"
Free. Although in the future I could always make it a profit center with premium placements, section sponsorship and the like.
After thinking about these questions, maybe option #2 with the best. Well, it's the safest and the least amount of work.
Although, I could go with option #1, and when they submit the description part I could tell them that if they want to control exactly as their listing appears they can submit unique content; otherwise we reseve the right to rewrite it in any way we like. And we can give them a Copyscape test for it so they know.
Now, one other thing to consider: While many of the companies are small and not "brands" so much and I have a good chance to rank for them since my site is so strong, many are certainly brands and with Google the way it is now, I likely would not stand a chance to rank for the company names anyway.
-
Hello Bizzer
I am going to approach this from a different angle first:
Why are you creating a directory for your blog?
Is the blog an industry specific blog of some type?
What are you hoping to gain from having the directory?
Is it something they pay for or do you allow them to be on it for free?
Personally, on the duped content, if there are going to just be about 100 then I would have zero duped content. I would have them submit something and let them know it might be edited and then I would check it. Hell, your writing blogs, you could edit this type material in ten minutes most likely.
Hope that helps.
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
-
Google won't index my website because "certain conditions" weren't met
I found the answer on this -- interestingly, I had changed registrars and they didn't pull over the DNS information correctly. This caused the above issues. Once I identified this, I updated the DNS correctly -- at registrar and server -- and things worked fine.
Content Development | | newbyguy0 -
Hi, on SEO article submissions, do I only include the link to the page I am trying to promote or is it best practice to also include a link to home page or parent page?
Good day. I am writing articles for submission, I would just like some help with the page structure. Do I only include the link for the page that I would like to promote or is it advisable to include other page links, such as home page or the parent category too? Any help would be appreciated
Content Development | | thebedguy0 -
What should my strategy be if I want to rank my website to be like psychologytoday.com?
Hi, I run a psychology blog for millennials and I recently started using MOZ trial. I'm looking for a general blueprint or questions I should be answering as I try to boost my search engine traffic to match up with psychologytoday.com Aside from link building and writing quality content, what are some other strategies that I can implement?
Content Development | | Psych2Go0 -
Need advice on Paying for content?
Hi, We would like to attracting more readers onto our blog by accepting guest posting from external bloggers. Could anyone refer any good artricles on MOZ about the best practices on managing the activities and what would be the normal KPIs and ROI?
Content Development | | LauraHT0 -
Where can I install a blog (not on the domain I'm optimising) which will help my search rankings?
I've got my hands tied, and I cannot install a blog like Wordpress on the domain I'm optimising. My question is, where then, would the next best place be? I've heard stories about subdomains being completely useless for affecting SEO of the root domain, and so anything external would probably have the same effect, correct? Would love to hear what some of you do in these situations. Cheers!
Content Development | | featherseo0 -
Google adsense image - text and alternatives
Hi, there has been a lot of talk on the internet about google adsense and which is better, image or text as well as what are the best alternatives to google adsense, so i thought i would throw out the topic on here and see what real website experts think about the topic. I have experienced google adsense image as better than text and would like to know what other people think and beside affliate ads what alternatives to google adsense do people like
Content Development | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Will our two retail sites get hit with duplicate content?
Our retail site just rolled out a second online store. The URL is new and it is showing some of the same products from the same vendors (probably about 40% of the fist store is in the second store). Down the road, we will remove the products from the first site, however, we are keeping it for now. The products show up on both sites, with the same images, and the same descriptions and almost the same URL query string. Are we going to get hit with any penalties due to duplicate content?
Content Development | | klmarketing0 -
For a consumer facing blog, how often do you recommend updating content to develop good rankings? I understand that it's really dependent upon the niche/competition, but what are some best practices? Content is expensive. Thanks
For a consumer facing blog, how often do you recommend updating content to develop good rankings? I understand that it's really dependent upon the niche/competition, but what are some best practices? Content is expensive. Thanks
Content Development | | CSOD19990