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Collection: alexa_web_2009

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Company: Home Depot

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Mistakes:

1) Session IDs in URL String

Sessions IDs are commonly used by e-commerce websites as a method of determining and tracking the patterns and habits of visitors to their pages. The problem with Session IDs is that every new visitor – or session – to the website will generate a new Session ID. The same thing will happen any time an automated crawler or Search Engine spider visits the page: every time a crawler visits the page, it will be given an entirely different set of URLs to be crawled than the last time it visited. This often results in pages that aren’t cached, or multiple URLs with different Session ID strings being indexed that serve the exact same, duplicated content.

 

What should be done?
There are a few ways to remedy this problem. The first is to change the way the website tracks users. By assigning users unique cookies when they visit the site, you can request the information in that cookie as they navigate the pages. This eliminates the need to track users with unique strings in the URL.

The second solution is to change the way search engine crawlers see the website.* By identifying search engine spiders, you can then set up your website to serve them a special version of the website that does not include Session IDs. This ensures that every time the crawler returns, it will receive the same URL for that page as it did during the last visit.

*Caution: This second solution is called “Cloaking” and should only be attempted by a professional. There are several new issues that can arise from cloaking if you are not careful, including issues that could lead to severe penalties or even exclusion from certain Search Engines!

 

Comments
Many e-commerce websites currently suffer from poor SEO. The appeal of a simple solution to tracking users is always very appealing. While it may be more difficult to set up a system that tracks users based on cookies, the benefits gained are well worth the effort. First, crawlers will find and index most pages easily, and more importantly, not more than once. Secondly, your users will find a simple URL much easier to bookmark or send to their friends (without having to type out all the extra information).

This site has many Search Engine Optimization catastrophes, and each will be discussed in later issues of VKI Internet Marketing Tips.