Empty public profiles are viewed as duplicate content. What to do?

[thomasvanderkleij]

Hi!

I manage a social networking site. We have a lot of public user profiles that are viewed as duplicate content. This is because these users haven't filled out any public profile info and thus the profiles are "empty" (except for the name). Is this something I should worry about? If yes, what are my options to solve this?

Thanks!

[matbennett]

This is totally down to a matter of personal preference.  I'd be looking for something in the way of original text.  A good way is to ask more question then total up the number of words in their answers.  You can also flesh that out by introducing snippets from recent activity, connections etc.  Do though try to include something in the way of original content in order to turn off the no-index.

I think your example isn't bad.  Add a personal slogan, or line of introduction and it is probably enough.

[thomasvanderkleij]

Ok thanks! How can I determine the threshold for having profiles indexed? A common case is where a profile has a name, a company name and 1-3 links to other social profiles (twitter, linkedin etc..). Would a page like this be interesting enough to index? From a visitor's perspective I think it is; not necessarily for the content, but it has enough potential for click-through (to the company profile or to signup because the the visitor wants to connect with the owner of the profile).

[matbennett]

That is quite easily dealt with.  Set some minimum levels and add a meta noindex to those profiles that don't meet that standard.

If you combine that with encouragement to fill out profiles ("Your profile is only 10% complete. Add your education now for +3%" etc) then you can solve the duplicate issue and also the underlying cause.  As they get completed they can start getting indexed again and you have a better website at the end of it.