Welcome to the Q&A Forum
Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.
Yes, redirect as many pages to the same page or a similar page as you can. Then other pages to a more general product section if you cannot find one-to-one. This is really about the user experience more so than SEO. You don't want the users ending up on a 404 page. So long as you address it from the user experience, and it sounds like you are, then you should be fine.
So long as www.citi.com points to https://online.citi.com/US/login.do, via the platform code and/or the .htaccess file, then it doesn't matter.
The primary issue is a domain name that is easy for users to type in and remember if they know the site and want to access it directly, rather than from a search engine results page. The cleaner the better. Once the user is on the site, then it is fine for the domain to point to a site in a subfolder.
For example, some WordPress users prefer to have their blog in a subfolder to keep their main directory tidy, and this is even when the blog is the purpose of the site in the first place, and not a subset of the site. It is quite common to see www.mysite.com/blog, where www.mysite.com redirects to the blog folder and that is then the index page for the website.
IOW, a user might type in "mysite.com" and then will be auto redirected to mysite.com/blog via the PHP code and the .htaccess file.
One drawback is that the location of the main site in a folder may add a small amount of latency to load times. A slight redirect as you show in your example is quite common, so search engines are used to it.
No, I don't see there being a penalty from a search engine company.
As to which is "better", you have to think through your business goals for the site and determine the best information architecture and site design for your services, products, company, or organization. That will drive the correct answer to that question.
-- Jewel
Taylor,
My recommendations are similar to Miriam's.
I recommend to people that they join their local Chamber of Commerce, as that provides a great backlink and wonderful local networking opportunities. Plus a nifty logo to add to a website that provides trust in a local community. They can also join the BBB, which gives a regional link. Both of those do cost money, though, and the value to the business depends on the services or products they sell. The BBB fees usually come back within a few months in terms of increased business and clientele. The CoC, I think that is a break-even.
The other option is to find local websites that may not look the best but are local authorities. These would be high schools, community colleges, churches, local clubs, etc. Depending on what they sell, they might be able to get their business mentioned and a local backlink if they offer free services, a raffle, that kind of thing. I.e., a donation of goods and services.
There is also sponsorship of local charity races or other related events such as cancer 5Ks, etc. Youth sports, such as baseball, soccer, football, are other opportunities. As much as I hate to say it, if the person is part of a particular racial minority or "specialty" religious group -- say, a Mormon -- work it! I had to tell one client that from the PNW, who is Morman, and she laughed. She knew what I meant, even though it is cynical to use something like that as a marketing device.
Then there are professional organizations, like the ABA, Interior Design, Event Planning, <insert org="" here="">that they should join, depending on their speciality. Sites like Angie's List and Porch bring some local SEO. Local people do search on those to find local contractors.</insert>
In terms of "free" ways to boost local SEO, Miriam's suggestions re: national directories is also one I make to clients. Granted, Moz and the other directory listings are not free.
If the target market is older, the Yellow Pages (paper) is one avenue.
-- Jewel
I agree with Oleg. So long as you link them all together with hreflang tags, you will be fine.
I agree with Logan Ray about going from the granular to the specific regarding site structure.
Having said that, in designing a taxonomy around users, I would do a navigation bar like this:
HOME
SERVICES
Whitening
(on whitening page)
(down page)
Straightening
(on straightening page)
(down page)
LOREM
IPSUM
VALOR
I do think users will be more likely to search under "whitening assessment" or "whitening treatment", for example, than your first example.
As the others said, the parent/child folder structure won't make or break your overall SEO, but a well-designed navigation will help improve the on-page user experience, and that will help reduce bounce rates.
I would not create 4 pages, unless you have so much content it makes sense to break it into 4 pages. Remember, we must design for people first, and robots second. The less clicking around people have to do, the better. Especially on a mobile phone, it's easier for the users if the information is all on one page.
-- Jewel
I love win-win situations for clients and the local community, too. Although, I don't set these up for my clients, but I encourage them to do it with more traditional marketers or on their own, depending on the size of the business.
The pages with the first domain name should be linked directly to the matching page of the new domain name, not to the generic home page. Having one generic page to which you are directing all old pages will affect your SEO, as far as I know. I do think the search engines prefer old url ==> new matching url, even though it is a pain in the rear to do when you have a large site.
I think the sister link ought to be OK, but are you using the href lang tag on both sites? Is one site the canonical site, or are they separate and equal?
I would focus on the overall Information Architecture, and lay out the content in a way that makes sense for the people reading the information. So, in that sense I think a one page site is appropriate for what you describe.
You can work on building backlinks to improve the SEO, as well as ensuring the freelancer is listed in local directories, social media, et al., plus doing other types of marketing.
Hello VTCRM,
This is a tough call. Because it is a branding versus SEO issue. Convention is to put the website's name on all the pages. However, you are correct to be concerned about duplication and "too much".
I decided to poke around on some big websites, where I know they have usability experts and ought to have the $$$ for high quality SEO. It looks like the convention is have the name in there, either as a repeated tagline, the company name, or as part of the product.
Target uses SquareSpace AFAIK, so even with customization, that may be a requirement of the platform, to repeat the tagline. But having used SquareSpace, it is probably their choice, as they have the programmers to change that.
I looked at Home Depot, and they do use their name in the product title. I also examined Nike. They use the name integrated into the product name, so not tagged on at the end.
My advice, then, would be to follow the convention and add the name to the title. I think the Google search engine has been programmed will enough to understand the brand name versus spamming.
Nike's way of integrating the name into the product is the one that stands out to me as potential SEO buster for spam. However, again, I think search engines ought to be able to pick apart a site or product name from spamming.
I think if you stick to convention and do "Topic | vertigo tiles", you'll be all right. As don_quixote pointed out, removing the standard branding name from the title does give you more room for other keywords. I agree with him that you should think through your navigation carefully, as you are doing, and that includes the page names ==> URL/slug names (the overall Information Architecture).
To summarize, do I think you'll be penalized for following web convention of the past 20 years and tacking your brand name/website name to the title? No.
Then your question will be, do you want to do this?
It sounds like you do, but you are hesitant because of fears of a duplication penalty. I don't think you need to worry about that, especially given these big sites are doing it.
The other aspect to information retrieval, is the location of one term or phrase near another that creates associations and helps in findability. Associating "product X women's tennis shoes" with "Nike" is a genuine association.
I think you'll be fine to add that name to the title, assuming you don't want the real estate for other keywords. IOW, I see no reason why you would be penalized. (And if not, contact me, and I'll help you fix it on my time!)
Me? I tend to follow convention in that regard. I'll buck convention in other areas, but you ought to be fine. (If it matters, I started building websites in 1995, I have worked with CMS systems for years, and I have yet to be penalized.)
-- Jewel
Bee159,
I would look at two aspects.
(1) How much content do you have? Does the amount of content you have point to one page, or two pages (or more)?
(2) If this is a new build for an old site, what of your target market uses smart phones versus desktop/laptop browsers? If this is a new website, what is the demographic of your target market, and are they likely to use smartphones or desktops to find you?
Why does this matter? Outside of the fact that Google has put the mobile index first, you want to keep your interface as simple as possible for the users. If they primarily use a cellphone to access your website, then you will want to have longer, scrolling pages. If they have to click around a lot on a cell, it can be harder for them to find and read your information, and that can affect your bounce rates.
If your clients/customers are primarily desktop users, then I would focus on what makes sense in terms of your site structure to put on one page or more. I'm not trying to hedge my answer, but I know you could have a huge site, or a small one, and those inform the site design and taxonomy, along with the target demographic for your site's users.
When it comes to SEO and taxonomy, I would opt for KIS (keep it simple). What makes it as simple as possible for your users to find the information they need? What is logical in terms of bigger topic ==> more granular.
When it comes to naming your URLs, if you decide the content is small enough to put on one page only, you can always do:
.com/dental-services/whitening-assessment-treatment
.com/dental-services/straightening-assessment-treatment
I do think when you use subfolders, you should try to keep the names unique (think unique identifiers, even though it is a folder) when at all possible or if it makes sense. Why? Because it reduces confusion for people and bots.
So per your
.com/whitening/assessment
.com/straightening/assessment
.com/whitening/treatment
.com/straightening/treatment
Has a lot of the same words used again and again. Instead, consider something like:
.com/teeth-whitening/unique-keword-here-assessment
.com/teeth-whitening/more-keywords-treatment
.com/teeth-straightening/another-unique-word-treatment
.com/teeth-straightening/different-keyword-now-assessment
Using 2 word mid-tail keywords or 4 word long tail keywords can you help you rank better and improve the logic of your taxonomy.
To summarize, base how much content you put on one page on how your users read your material (mobile browser or desktop or both) and by how much content you have. And how to judge that, I don't know how to tell you without seeing it.
However you organize your pages and taxonomy, do your best to give the subfolders unique names even when they don't have the same parent. The caveat is if it is not logical to the human eye and understanding to use 2-4 word phrases, then don't. You don't want to overthink or over optimize it.
Some other thoughts...keep to web conventions, as people are used to HOME SERVICES ABOUT CONTACT (etc.). The slugs you can name using more detailed keyword phrases. If you have older clients (50+), then I'd stick to a very explicit taxonomy and navigation. If you have younger users, you can be a little more creative, like use the much-maligned hamburger menu.
Does this all make sense?
-- Jewel
Spacecollective,
You are welcome.
If I understand correctly, then, when the entire site structure changed, that left no way to redirect pages to similar or the same pages, because there aren't any? So that is why you have the generic redirect?
I think for usability, it is better safe then sorry to do 301 redirects. I agree, you made the right choice. I don't see this as a problem that will drag down your SEO. Google search engines do not penalize for 404s, so they should also not penalize for a generic 301 redirect, although it is not a good idea to do generic. The 404 issue with redirects is more one of a usability issue, than an SEO one. You don't want someone to hit a dead end on your site.
I looked at your two sites, and although they do have similar products, they each have a different address, and a different enough interface, that to my eye, they do not seem to be complete duplicates. So I think you are OK with that link to each other.
Have you performed a full SEO audit of your system to see what issues there are?
I took the liberty of of looking at both of your sites and running some quick tests.
There are things you can tweak on both of them. Try going to: GTMetrix.com and running your URL through. If you haven't already, add SEOQuake to your Chrome or Firefox browsers, go to the URLs for your sites, and you can see some of the errors you can fix that will help your SEO on the SEOQuake interface.
For example, your keywords describe your items, but they may not necessarily be how your users search to find those items. Also, look at: https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com -- your load speeds could be improved by optimizing your images.
To summarize, I think your SEO issues are not related to your 301 redirects and your link to your sister site. I see a variety of things that you can tweak and fix, and that should improve your SEO.
If you haven't done a full eval, I have a checklist on my business site that you are welcome to download (no email address required) and step through. I won't put the link here, as I don't want to be perceived as trying to sell my services or build backlinks to my site -- I'm trying to help you. 
But if you want to look at it, then search on my name or company, and you'll find it in the navigation bar under SERVICES. Also, I'm happy to answer any other questions related to your question in this thread.
-- Jewel
Have you tried contacting your hosting company or CDN to see if there were any gateway issues that might have blocked your home page? It seems a stretch, but it is the only thing I can think of outside of what you have tried. I am assuming you made no changes to your robots.txt file, either.
