Innocent Ignorance or Crime and Punishment: The Perils of Duplicate Web Content

Transcription

1 January 2010 Inncent Ignrance r Crime and Punishment: The Perils f Duplicate Web Cntent I By Max Starkv Duplicate Web Cntent Defined Duplicate Web cntent is when tw web pages with different URLs cntain largely identical cntent. These tw pages may reside n the same website (internal duplicatin) r n tw different sites with tw cmpletely different cre URLs (external duplicatin). Here is Ggle s definitin: Duplicate cntent generally refers t substantive blcks f cntent within r acrss dmains that either cmpletely match ther cntent r are appreciably similar. What are the reasns fr duplicate Web cntent? H e B S d i g i t a l, I n c. A d d r e s s : 6 W 4 8 t h S t. 8 t h F l r, N e w Y r k, N Y P h n e : F a x : E - m a i l : s a l e h e b s d i g i t a l. c m W e b : w w w. h e b s d i g i t a l. c m

2 In sme cases duplicate cntent is a result f hteliers inncent ignrance. Example: a htel signs up with an nline travel agency (OTA) and cmpletes the OTA questinnaire, prviding the OTA with htel descriptins which are an identical cpy f the cntent descriptins frm the htel wn website. When the OTA publishes these descriptins n its wn website withut editing r altering them in any significant manner, then we have a clear case f duplicate cntent under tw different cre URLs (external duplicatin). An example f internal duplicatin is printer-nly versins f web pages n the htel website. In ther cases cntent is deliberately duplicated acrss the Web in an attempt t manipulate search engine rankings r win mre traffic. These deceptive practices are usually perfrmed by shady SEO vendrs r self-taught in-huse experts. In all cases, in the eyes f the search engines such duplicate cntent practices, if served within the search engine results, result in a pr user experience. Duplicate Cntent and the Search Engines Generally speaking, search engines hate duplicate cntent. Why? The search engines are wrking very hard t index and shw pages with distinct infrmatin. Fr them duplicate infrmatin is nt beneficial t the search engine users and inhibits the user experience. Duplicate cntent is spam. This is the reasn why when tw r mre Web pages are identified as "t similar", ne r mre f thse Web pages usually disappear frm the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Ggle s wn guidelines t webmasters are very clear: Dn t create multiple pages, subdmains, r dmains with substantially duplicate cntent. The search engines perfrm duplicate cntent filtering thrughut the three main parts f the search engine prcess: spidering r crawling, indexing, and query prcessing. In this way sme duplicate cntent is filtered ut befre Web pages are even added t the search engine index, sme during the prcess f catalguing new cntent (indexing), and later, when respnding t user searches and serving the SERPs. The end result is that typically duplicate cntent is nt displayed in the search results. What d the search engines d when they discver duplicate cntent? Internal Duplicatin: In the case f a simple internal duplicatin e.g. if yur site has a "regular" and "printer" versin f each page, and neither f these is blcked with a nindex meta tag, the search engines will chse ne f them t list. If yur site cntains multiple pages with largely identical cntent (e.g. large e-cmmerce sites r prly structured htel brand r OTA websites), there are a number f ways yu can indicate yur preferred page and its URL t Ggle and the ther search engines. This prcess f identifying the preferred URL is called "cannicalizatin" and may invlve the use f a 301 re-direct r nindex meta tag. External Duplicatin: As mentined abve, a typical example is a htel prviding htel descriptins t an OTA that are identical t the nes frm the htel s wn site. When the search engines discver this duplicate cntent HeBS 2

3 abut the htel n bth sites, which ne prevails? Typically a site that is better knwn, has a larger user audience, and a better link ppularity (backlink structure in Ggle-speak), is likely t trump any ther website. In ther wrds, the search engines will include the OTA pages abut the htel in the search results and ignre the htel s wn website. Deliberate Cntent Duplicatin: In cases f cntent duplicatin in which the search engines perceive that duplicate cntent may be shwn with intent t manipulate search rankings and deceive users, the search engines make apprpriate adjustments in the indexing and ranking f the sites invlved. As a result, the ranking f the site may suffer, r the site might be remved entirely frm the search engine index, in which case it will n lnger appear in search results. Htel Websites and Duplicate Cntent Prviding cntent abut the htel t ther sites is inevitable n the Web. This is nt a new phenmenn. All htels prvide htel and rm descriptins t varius third-party sites, branding and distributin partners, etc: Majr htel brands, sft brands and htel rep cmpanies OTAs, GDSs, bking engine vendrs, etc. Htel listings n CVB and Chamber f Cmmerce sites, htel directries, destinatin prtals, etc. In additin t distributing the htel inventry t a wider audience, sme f these cntent listings prvide added benefits t the htel s wn website. Htel listings n directries, destinatin sites, CVB sites, etc which feature a URL link t yur wn htel s website directly affect hw yur htel is ranked n the search engines. Search engines lve such incming links t yur site (s-called strategic linking; Ggle calls them backlinks) as each such link is cnsidered a vte f cnfidence in yur website s cntent. In ther wrds, hteliers cannt avid sharing cntent descriptins abut their htel with ther sites. But hteliers have t be very smart abut it and avid prviding duplicate cntent t any external distributin r marketing partner site. Unfrtunately, this has been a serius prblem in the industry fr many years: hteliers prvide the third-party sites with exactly the same cntent descriptins fund n their websites. Why? It is much easier t cpy and paste than write significantly different htel and rm descriptins. The inevitable result f the existing practices is that many f these third-party sites like the OTAs knw SEO (search engine ptimizatin) techniques far better than the htels d, and the result is that the OTA listings end up higher in the search engine rankings than the prperty s wn cntent. Unique Cntent t the Rescue S what shuld hteliers d t avid their wn sites being excluded frm the search engine results r nt indexed at all by the search engines, r being ranked lwer than third-party sites? HeBS 3

4 T begin with, avid duplicate cntent at all cst. Make sure that all cntent descriptins abut the htel are significantly different acrss the Web: Franchised Htels: n the brand website vs. the htel s wn vanity site Independent Htels: n the htel s wn site vs. the management cmpany s website vs. the htel rep cmpany s site All Htels: the htel wn site vs. htel s descriptins n the OTA sites. Understand that the real threat is nt in prviding cntent in the frm f htel listings n a CVB site, r in the frm f re-seller listings n Expedia.cm, but t use the same cntent n yur wn website. By prviding unique htel and htel prduct descriptins n the htel s wn website, yur site will have a clear advantage in the eyes f Internet users and search engines alike, cmpared t all ther sites that prvide duplicate cntent descriptins abut yur htel. Therefre, creating the best, deepest, mst unique and relevant cntent (textual and visual) abut yur htel n yur wn website, naturally ptimized fr the search engines (SEO) as per best practices, shuld becme a tp pririty fr any htel in Case Studies: A typical Marritt Htel: Expedia has 4-6 pages f cntent fr each Marritt htel n its website. Marritt.cm has in average pages f cntent fr each Marritt htel with gd SEO The result? Prperty cntent pages frm Marritt.cm are usually ranked better n Ggle and the ther search engines than Expedia s cntent pages n the same prperties. Mandarin Oriental: Expedia has 4-6 pages f cntent fr each Mandarin Oriental htel n its website. MandarinOriental.cm has in average pages f cntent fr each Mandarin Oriental htel with gd SEO The result? Similar t the Marritt.cm case, prperty cntent pages frm MandarinOriental.cm are usually ranked better n Ggle and the ther search engines than Expedia s cntent pages n the same prperties. In ther wrds, the cntent n yur wn website has t be able t utshine any ther descriptin f yur htel prduct and services n any ther website. If the CVB site r a htel directry r an OTA site has a single page f cntent/descriptin f yur prperty, yur wn website shuld have at least 25 pages f deep, unique, relevant and SEO-friendly cntent abut the prperty. Cnclusin HeBS 4

5 Sharing textual and visual cntent abut yur htel with third-party distributin and marketing sites is inevitable. In the same time hteliers shuld avid at all csts having cntent frm their wn website duplicated n ther sites t avid the htel site frm being marginalized in the search engine results r de-listed by the search engines altgether. Hteliers shuld strive t create the best, deepest, mst SEO-friendly and unique cntent (textual and visual) abut yur htel n yur wn website, cmplimented with the fllwing actin steps in 2010 aiming t psitin yur htel website as the mst sught-after surce f infrmatin abut yur htel: Re-design the htel website as per industry s best practices Create fresh and deep textual and visual cntent n the sites (the best cntent abut yur htel shuld be n yur website) Implement rbust Web 2.0 functinality n the htel website: Blgs Custmer reviews/cmment card n the site Interactive calendars abut lcal events/happenings, special ffers and packages Pht and experience sharing Interactive cntests and sweepstakes Rich media and vides Implement slid SEO n the website Implement rbust strategic linking frm relevant, preferably nn-paid sites and directries Implement scial marketing initiatives (Twitter prfile, fan pages n Facebk, etc), and maintain regular engaging pstings and new cntent creatin Ggle nw delivers real-time results frm these scial netwrks t its search result pages Implement cmprehensive Internet marketing: marketing, search marketing, banner advertising and spnsrships, mbile marketing, etc), each piece featuring unique cntent abut the prperty Implement an nline PR campaign and prperty news disseminatin campaign, featuring unique cntent abut the prperty Implement an enterprise level website analytics and campaign tracking (e.g. Omniture SiteCatalyst and Omniture SearchCenter) t measure the results and ROI frm yur effrts. Partner with htel Internet marketing experts wh understand the intricacies f hw search engines wrk and prvide in-huse cpywriting and SEO expertise as per industry s best practices, as well as guide yur direct nline channel strategy, website re-design and ptimizatin, search and marketing, scial marketing and mbile Web initiatives. Abut the Authr and HeBS: HeBS 5

6 Max Starkv is Chief ebusiness Strategist at Hspitality ebusiness Strategies (HeBS), the industry s leading Internet marketing strategy cnsulting firm fr the hspitality vertical, is based in New Yrk City ( HeBS has pineered many f the "best practices" in htel Internet marketing and direct nline distributin. The firm specializes in helping hteliers build their direct Internet marketing and distributin strategy, bst the htel Internet marketing presence, establish interactive relatinships with their custmers, and significantly increase direct nline bkings and ROIs. A diverse client prtfli f ver 500 tp tier majr htel brands, luxury and butique htel brands, resrts and casins, htel management cmpanies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sught and successfully taken advantage f the firm hspitality Internet marketing expertise. Cntact HeBS cnsultants at (212) r sales@hspitalityebusiness.cm HeBS 6