Navigation for search
-
We are getting ready to launch a site that has great navigation for users, but it is not so great for search engines. As long as we are ethical about it, does anyone see a downside to detecting a bot user agent and displaying different nav to it? I suppose some could consider it cloaking, but I noticed amazon uses this strategy and they don't seem to be getting a big penalty lol. We are not going to do anything shady with it, just offer the bot a different way to access our content. Any thoughts?
-
I would never recommend altering your site in any way specifically for a bot. Google has repeatedly stated that would be seen as cloaking and you definitely run the risk of a penalty. It can happen any time. Do you really want that cloud over your head?
Even if Amazon is able to do it, you are not Amazon. Despite any statement to the contrary, a huge site like Amazon can do things that you or I may not be able to do. We can debate the fairness of it, but we are not on a level playing field with them.
You seem to really want to do this, so feel free. But x months from now you will likely make a post "My rankings dropped and I can't figure out why", and then someone will notice the setting and that will be the answer.
-
Could you please share the site in question? we might be able to give a much more insightful thought
-
Thanks for your suggestion Alex!
-
All the content will be accessible through the sitemap which will be displayed in both versions (the user and the bot) version of the site. The only difference is the navigation will change from one version to another. It could be perceived as a gray area, even though we really are just making it more friendly to bots not trying to be deceptive at all.
-
And that should be okay if they see the content is the same between your normal version and the spider version, just a difference in presentation. It becomes a problem when you start serving drastically different content.
-
How about adding an indexable version of the navigation and then hiding it with CSS? The crawlers would see that. I haven't thought about whether that'd be a good idea, just a quick thought.
-
We usually operate under the principal that would this be ok if it were manually reviewed? In our plan, I am pretty confident that it would pass. We are planning on making what is displayed to bots very basic text link navigation. Our XML and html sitemaps will correspond well with the bot navigation (so to show G we really are not trying to hide anything). And yes we could make the nav more search friendly, but one of our main goals is to have the site look as clean as possible. As far as I can tell Amazon uses this method to avoid duplicate content issues and make their site generally more crawlable which is why I think it is on the table as an option.
-
Depending on how much you're changing, I think it could be considered cloaking and end up getting you in trouble. You'll get looked at any time you're sniffing for bots and serving up different content. Are there other ways you could make the navigation index-able?
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
-
Frustrated by Google Search Result
We have a page on our website for our review of the "Voltage" shisha flavor by "Social Smoke" (Social Smoke is the brand). Voltage is one of their hookah tobacco flavors. https://www.hookah.org/social-smoke-voltage-flavored-hookh-tobacco/. When I search for "Social Smoke Voltage Review", our page is at the bottom of the first page result. We have a video, decent content on the page, and a review function. We've implemented correct Schema code too: https://goo.gl/iwCP7E. When I use the page grade tool on Moz. Our page ranks B for that keyword but the results number 1 and 2 and 3 on Google all rank C or D. Our video and review schemas don't show up on Google search result either. We have a good community online. Our social media pages are popular. We share the blog posts on the social media accounts fairly regularly too. We have an old and established website. From what I understand we are following all of Google's standards and rules too. What does a website owner gotta do?
On-Page Optimization | | Heydarian0 -
How to optimise a page for a regional search without it looking clumsy?
What's is the best way to go about optimising a page for a regional search phrase. E.g. 'Physiotherapy CITY' and keep the text looking natural and not manipulated? Previously I've added the search phrase 'Physiotherapy CITY' to TITLE and H1 but this can look clumsy when used in the H1 tag. If I grade a page using MOZ on-page optimisation it will suggest I add the search phrase to the H1. What the recommended way of doing regional on-page optimisation?
On-Page Optimization | | benners0 -
Does PLA hurt my organic google search.
I have experienced a big drop in my organic trafic to my site. But an increase in my cpc...? Does google punish my site for PLA to get higher revenue?
On-Page Optimization | | Egmont0 -
Do search engines look for keywords in the slug?
Is it OK to split a key phrase into a slug and file name, or should the entire key phrase be in the file name. For example, consider the following articles: How to wash your car.
On-Page Optimization | | ChristopherGlaeser
How to change a tire.How to replace a windshield wiper. Will search engines recognize the "how to" in the following taxonomy: www.domain.com/how-to/wash-your-car/
www.domain.com/how-to/change-a-tire/
www.domain.com/how-to/replace-a-windshield-wiper/ Or, should the "how-to" be included in the file name? Best,Christopher0 -
Using Transcription Service For Videos - Have Question Around Search and Spiders
Hi All, So I have put together a weekly video series on security topics. I have read an SEOmoz post around how you can boost SEO by adding the transcription to the page, which makes perfectly good sense. My question is, can I include the first couple of paragraphs and then have a "read the full transcription" so when the user clicks, the rest of the content appears? Do the search engine spiders only crawl the first two paragraphs in this instance or do they crawl the whole thing even though the entire content is not on the page? I dont mind making the page longer and including the entire transcription if it is easier for SEO but if there is no difference, than I think the first option would be the best user experience. Thanks for the help Pat
On-Page Optimization | | PatBausemer0 -
Footer-links (navigation)
I want to put navigation links in my footer. I watched the (distilled) whiteboard friday video saying it can be a penalty. How are links in the footer different from links in the navigation. Why don't you get "hit" for putting the word "Real Estate Listings" in the navigation menu? It appears on every one of the 30k pages. I don't get why the links in the footer would have a negative effect if the links in the navigation don't. My example is a real estate website. When people are browsing properties (30k), it is convenient that at the end of the page there is a navigation of areas. I could put the navigation on the sidebar but that would be in essence, the same thing. A wordpress site would dynamically include that sidebar on every page.
On-Page Optimization | | JML11790 -
What's the best practice for implementing a "content disclaimer" that doesn't block search robots?
Our client needs a content disclaimer on their site. This is a simple "If you agree to these rules then click YES if not click NO" and you're pushed back to the home page. I have this gut feeling that this may cause an upset with the search robots. Any advice? R/ John
On-Page Optimization | | TheNorthernOffice790
