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Hello,

First, I have some questions & unanswered needs-to-know which could help you figure this out:

• You mentioned that "it looks like the site was penalized by Google". Was your site issued a manual/link/partial penalty or is this based off of metrics? Was there a message via Search Console/WMT? In the previous paragraph you discuss building links but one shouldn't assume, even if it fails the smell test.
• Explain what type of structured data markup you were using for areas affected. Were you using review schema for areas where reviews/products aren't featured? Is there JSON-LD markup on your site AND does it reference the same content on page via HTML?
• What does your Structured Data Report section look like in GSC/WMT? Errors? Did you test in the Structured Data Testing Tool beforehand? What day did this happen? What did MozCast or SEO chatter via the web look like that day?

Here's an older article (2015) via Search Engine Land by Tony Edward covering structured data markup penalty recovery - Ask yourself the above questions (or respond), read the article, and also ask yourself:

• Were my intentions honest? Was my recipe markup for a recipe? Did I buy links via Fiverr? Is this drop in rankings and traffic even related to structured data markup or backlinks?
• If I was doing everything with the best of intentions, is this the work of a negative SEO campaign? What does your recent link profile look like?

Write back - let's figure this out!

Beau

Hey Luke,

General rule or theory is that content behind tabs is "indexed but discounted" due to it not being visible without some digging. In the wild, I've seen e-commerce websites move both towards tabs (less for the reasons that you mentioned and more for sortability & end-user experience needs) or away from tabs (letting the content & product specs work for the site in terms of crawl and relevance on search). A good example of the latter would be Amazon.

Hope this answers your question fully.

-Beau

Hey Luke,

It appears that in each of the three examples, there was a plausible case for each example. Let's cover each:

• For /url/?* , it can be expressed that a URL can offer a trailing slash and then a query string, see examples here.
• with /url/? , this covers examples of the above and in addition, would plausibly block product pages that generate query strings, similar to this example from H&M. In essence, only allowing the product page to be seen.
• /url/* , well, that's just anything and everything after the trailing slash.

I guess the question you should ask yourself is "Is this the best approach for the issue?"

Hey Steve,

First question: How similar are these products? Are they the same but with color/trim/size differences? Have you had the conversation about canonicalization or are they not that similar?

Regarding duplication: I wouldn't look at it from a percentage standpoint, and if I did, I'd aim for 0-20% duplication with the assumption that 20% dupe was due to sentence beginnings and common intro phrases such as "If you're looking for....", which even as I look at that, I'd want to fix (because they're ubiquitous). Focus on the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why and how) and answer each one of those the best that you can, with the product's uses and why each model is different in mind.

Is there a way you can discuss the different use cases for each model number? Highlight benefits and applications? When people look for your product, what else are they searching for or concerned about?

Beau

Hey Joey,

Are your HTTPS pages inaccessible to crawl or require a login to see the content? Would you want that content to be visible on Google? If so, I'd have it on HTTPS pointing to HTTP, but make sure that if they need to login, that you give them a smooth transition on the HTTP page.

There are some other questions that could alter your needs such as:

• How similar are the pages?
• Do you want target to be indexed at all?
• Pagination? Other on-page directives?

Here's a good article on common mistakes with canonicals, it's helped me out in the past.

Beau

Be willing to take calculated risks that have a considerable chance at failing when it comes to your own education & development. View it as a dare, and if it backfires, continue to see it as a dare. Plan well, test often, and keep moving, as the industry is never static.

When I made the decision to leave my first professional SEO job, I took an aggressive stance and applied at an agency that I felt like I was unready for. My then-employer, a large Digital Marketing firm, took care of a freelance-local-guy-turned-professional like me, and I'm forever grateful, but after 18 months of SEO meetups, conferences, voluntary OT and projects, I felt like I was ready for a big step up.

Check that - I wasn't "ready", but I was ready to dive deeper. It just felt right, and I didn't know what it would take, but when I saw the job posting, I applied. I contacted the CEO directly, I told them the truth about my relative experience, and I got lucky and was hired.

I worked hard. H-A-R-D. I made it a passion project to exceed my employer's expectations. I studied daily, I dedicated myself to learning new tools, deep-end dives into Excel, mastering parts of SEO that used to scare me senseless (looking at you, URL Parameters), and within a few months, I was let go from the agency. The combination of not being a great fit and my rapid-but-not-rapid-enough education seemed to be the cause, and I was deflated. The CEO reached out, offered to give me a hand in finding a new job, and while I didn't need it, I was grateful and will always be. But I was at a mental bottom - all of that effort, and for what? I didn't have much of a pay raise and my taking the job was solely about learning how the top-level minds operate, and I kept asking myself as I applied for new jobs on LinkedIn, "What did I get out of it?"

Well, I ended up getting more education and experience in 4 months than I had received in the previous 12. All of that effort and work in trying to be better at what I do didn't just go out the window once I faced rejection. My first interviews were a breeze; I could explain not just that backlinks were good, but the theory behind links being seen as a "vote", all the way down to the logical theory, and when I landed back on my feet in my next role, I was ready for bigger responsibilities, and I had the confidence and the technical mindset for a solid foundation that I hadn't had in a very long time.

Long story short: Be hungry, take on projects, see where your limits are, and make it fun so you never have to work a day in your life.

Be willing to take calculated risks that have a considerable chance at failing when it comes to your own education & development. View it as a dare, and if it backfires, continue to see it as a dare. Plan well, test often, and keep moving, as the industry is never static.

When I made the decision to leave my first professional SEO job, I took an aggressive stance and applied at an agency that I felt like I was unready for. My then-employer, a large Digital Marketing firm, took care of a freelance-local-guy-turned-professional like me, and I'm forever grateful, but after 18 months of SEO meetups, conferences, voluntary OT and projects, I felt like I was ready for a big step up.

Check that - I wasn't "ready", but I was ready to dive deeper. It just felt right, and I didn't know what it would take, but when I saw the job posting, I applied. I contacted the CEO directly, I told them the truth about my relative experience, and I got lucky and was hired.

I worked hard. H-A-R-D. I made it a passion project to exceed my employer's expectations. I studied daily, I dedicated myself to learning new tools, deep-end dives into Excel, mastering parts of SEO that used to scare me senseless (looking at you, URL Parameters), and within a few months, I was let go from the agency. The combination of not being a great fit and my rapid-but-not-rapid-enough education seemed to be the cause, and I was deflated. The CEO reached out, offered to give me a hand in finding a new job, and while I didn't need it, I was grateful and will always be. But I was at a mental bottom - all of that effort, and for what? I didn't have much of a pay raise and my taking the job was solely about learning how the top-level minds operate, and I kept asking myself as I applied for new jobs on LinkedIn, "What did I get out of it?"

Well, I ended up getting more education and experience in 4 months than I had received in the previous 12. All of that effort and work in trying to be better at what I do didn't just go out the window once I faced rejection. My first interviews were a breeze; I could explain not just that backlinks were good, but the theory behind links being seen as a "vote", all the way down to the logical theory, and when I landed back on my feet in my next role, I was ready for bigger responsibilities, and I had the confidence and the technical mindset for a solid foundation that I hadn't had in a very long time.

Long story short: Be hungry, take on projects, see where your limits are, and make it fun so you never have to work a day in your life.

Hey Luke,

It appears that in each of the three examples, there was a plausible case for each example. Let's cover each:

• For /url/?* , it can be expressed that a URL can offer a trailing slash and then a query string, see examples here.
• with /url/? , this covers examples of the above and in addition, would plausibly block product pages that generate query strings, similar to this example from H&M. In essence, only allowing the product page to be seen.
• /url/* , well, that's just anything and everything after the trailing slash.

I guess the question you should ask yourself is "Is this the best approach for the issue?"

Hey Joey,

Are your HTTPS pages inaccessible to crawl or require a login to see the content? Would you want that content to be visible on Google? If so, I'd have it on HTTPS pointing to HTTP, but make sure that if they need to login, that you give them a smooth transition on the HTTP page.

There are some other questions that could alter your needs such as:

• How similar are the pages?
• Do you want target to be indexed at all?
• Pagination? Other on-page directives?

Here's a good article on common mistakes with canonicals, it's helped me out in the past.

Beau

Hey Luke,

General rule or theory is that content behind tabs is "indexed but discounted" due to it not being visible without some digging. In the wild, I've seen e-commerce websites move both towards tabs (less for the reasons that you mentioned and more for sortability & end-user experience needs) or away from tabs (letting the content & product specs work for the site in terms of crawl and relevance on search). A good example of the latter would be Amazon.

Hope this answers your question fully.

-Beau