May 14
Q and A: Does Google automatically search sub-directories?
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Dear Kalena…
Does Google automatically search sub-directories? Or do I have to have a ‘Links’ page to force google to index the sub-directories?
Also, I was reading about ‘redundant’ content. I have a business directory which will eventually have thousands of pages with the only main difference in content being: {Company} {City} {ST} and {Subject1}. Will Google view this as redundant content?
Best Regards,
Steve
Dear Steve,
For Google to index your sub-directories, you will need some links pointing to them. These links can simply be internal navigation links and if you have a large website, it’s also advisable to include a sitemap that links to all your pages and sub-directories within your site.
In regards to your redundant content query – it’s best SEO practice to have at least 250 words of unique content per page. So if all the pages are the same other than the contact details – then yes, it would be considered redundant content.
My advice would be to offer a one-page listing for each company and on that page have a small blurb about the company, their contact details and a feature that allow users to add feedback/comments/reviews. This should provide enough information for Google to index without causing redundant or duplicate content issues.
Hope this helps!
Peter Newsome
SiteMost
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May 15th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Very true – I was also wondering about this some time ago i.e does google treat a subdomain as a unique url? Does it needs it’s own sitemap? Whats better website.com/blog or blog.website.com? Is there a difference? So many questions lol but it all boils down to….linking the pages correctly – and submitting sitemaps for those folders (especially if you are using a subdomain) :)
May 18th, 2009 at 2:22 am
@RobertK – for very well trusted domains (like microsoft.com, apple.com etc.) Google treats sub-domains as separate sites and subsequently will display multiple sub-domains in the search results.
For less popular sites, Google treats sub-domains the same as sub-folders. So it’s better to use website.com/blog than blog.website.com since it helps keep your URL-naming conventions consistent and configuring a sub-folder is generally a bit easier than creating a sub-domain.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Thanks for the info guys. I’m only starting out with web design and I have a general idea of html programming (tables etc) but any additional info is valuable.
The idea of Google searching sub-directories didn’t occur to me, I just assumed it was something that happened automatically. As my site grows I’m sure any extra material on design and seo will be valuable.