Search Engine Optimisation Web Log (BLOG)
Editor: Matt Paines

| This News Blog is dedicated to bringing news, information and innovations targeting the Search Engine Optimisation industry.

Session Id's hurt listings
How many times do you see sites with session Id's. Sites using session Id's often fail to be indexed, not because of the length of the URL that is typically generated but more likely because session Id's generate identical content with individual URL's. Of course the duplication of pages on different URL's is a major headache for the search engines.

Webmasters often use session Id's because some Internet users choose to turn cookies off. Using session id's individualizes the page and so the user can then be tracked around a site. At the SES New York Jake Ballie put it best, is it better to get your site listed, increase traffic and track 90% of your traffic or pamper to the minority who disable cookies and by doing so seriously damage your listings? In a related issue Jake explained that session Id's were the No 1 reason for credit card hacks.

Other things hurting listings according to Mikkel deMib Svendsen

• Long and ugly urls -more than two queries
  Duplicate content -caused by session ids and some bread crumb systems
  Spider traps - auto generated links on dynamic pages
  Forced Cookie pages
• Java and flash navigation
  Geotargeting personalisation - automated redirecting
  Forms navigation
• Dropdown Navigation
  Robots exclusion text
  Password protection

It only goes to emphases that poor web design is often the biggest reason for poor search engine performance.

M.P