Index Spider

[user123123]

Hi,

I have a few landing pages which are optimised for SEO.

I have added them to my sitemap and submitted them, but they are not linked to the main site - do they need to be to be Spidered or is a sitemap sufficient?

Thanks

 

[Will@clicksuccess]

Hi,
As far as I know they do not have to be spidered also. This is why sitemaps are so useful - you dont have to leave a trail of cookies to let Google know where your pages are.
Kind regards
Will

 

[indigobean2003]

The sitemap should be enough. Finding pages that are not linked is what sitemaps are for. However it may take a month for google to get around to indexing those pages.

To see what pages are indexed by google type:
site:www[dot]youraddress.co.uk
into google

 

[FAB Enterprises]

It's good practice to be able to get to any page from your main site, even if these are landing pages. Include them in human readable site map if you are having difficulty integrating them in menus or organically.

Personally I wouldn't rely solely on a SE sitemap to say what pages to index. Spiders like to crawl and if they find links to these pages they will regard them as interesting. If you have no links even from your own site the pages are likely to be considered unimportant.

Mason

 

[amasum]

Completely agree with Mason. if you can't add those pages from any of the pages of your website then have a local sitemap and link those pages.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Why have you created 'landing pages'? A landing page is the terminology for a page created to deliver PPC traffic to. ideally they shuld be ecluded from sipering as they tend to be close to duplicate content.

Are you saying that you have created a load of content pages made to pull organic traffic into your site? If the answer is yes, then why are they orphaned? Google particularly doesn't like orphaned pages that are not in your sites link architecture.

It specifically mentions how the use of doorway pages should be avoided.

Do these pages have links only into your site?

you are walking on thin ice if this is the case.

 

[user123123]

Hi Old welsh guy.
Thanks for your warning - i have landing pages for organc traffic - I forget where I read the article. Links are just into the site.

What do you suggest I do? Link to them from the main site to keep them from being orphaned?

Thanks

www dot seomoz dot org/blog/landing-pages-for-seo

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Hi Old welsh guy.
Thanks for your warning - i have landing pages for organc traffic - I forget where I read the article. Links are just into the site.

What do you suggest I do? Link to them from the main site to keep them from being orphaned?

Thanks

www dot seomoz dot org/blog/landing-pages-for-seo

You answered your own question. 'Landing page' is one of those odd phrases. Traditionally it has been exclusively for PPC/marketing campaigns (as Brian stated), but it has slowly become meaning more like the page a searcher lands on.

Brian actually covers this in his comment "Every individual Landing Page is a major part of the site itself, "

 

[user123123]

Hi thanks for your reply.

In terms of what google sees/does, why cant pages be orphaned with just a link in to the main site?

 

[Alliance]

I think I know what you're trying to create, Google calls these doorway pages.

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66355

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I think I know what you're trying to create, Google calls these doorway pages.

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66355

Initially that was also my concern, but I think we have cleared that up

 

[user123123]

Hi thanks,

Doorway pages seem to be a 'spamming' of pages with different seo, all directed to one page?
All I want is one 'landing' page for each product, directing to each different product, that is more optimised than the original product page..

So the result is that I should link to all landing pages from the main site, and I shouldn't be penalised?

Thanks

 

[OldWelshGuy]

See here is the thing, is the reason you are not optimising the product page down to limitations within the shopping cart? ideally the product page is the one to optimise.

Another thing is that the trasfer of the traffic from the 'landing page' to the products page must ABSOLUTELY NOT be automatic. the user must have to click a button to go to that page. Automating it would cross the boundary and put you into black hat territory.

 

[user123123]

See here is the thing, is the reason you are not optimising the product page down to limitations within the shopping cart? ideally the product page is the one to optimise.

Another thing is that the trasfer of the traffic from the 'landing page' to the products page must ABSOLUTELY NOT be automatic. the user must have to click a button to go to that page. Automating it would cross the boundary and put you into black hat territory.

I could optimise the product page, but it would be less optimised compared to these landing pages (limitations of dynamic pages etc). Also, I came across the article I showed you, and it said about the benefits of having a 'blank' screen (no side distractions, just about the product and a call to action), so thought I'd just create a simple, fully SEO'd page to pull people through.

Thanks for the automated warning, it is a link to the actual product page.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Then you are good to go. personally I would link the pages into my main navigation system somehow.