The Big Canonz

Or how I learned to love .htaccess and solutions to canonicalization.

Canonicalization is becoming a very hot topic in SEO circles just now and it is something that we have become mindful of at Matchmaker Marketing. So what the heck is it all about you may ask? The word canonicalization (note US spelling which is the correct form in this case) is taken from the word ‘canonical’ which itself has Greek origins and is used to describe a process which conforms to an orthodox structure or rule of some kind. In the context of SEO this specifically relates to the cognitive or semantic interpretation of URLs but this is a bad thing in a sense as we need to have only one form of the URL directing a browser or other agent through to the website pages.

Canonicalization is used to describe an issue that arises from a web page being called on a URL with or without the (www’s) but the issue now also extends to the problematic trailing back-slash that many linking agents will append to a URL. Canonicalization issues will arise when these different forms of the URL are spidered, the search engine robots are not smart enough (yet) to be able to tell that both URLs are essentially the same and directing it to the same website. Instead they perceive these URLs as different addresses directing to websites with duplicate content and this can be very bad for your Google ranking.

You can check to see if you may have potential canonicalization problems simply by typing your site URL into a browser with and without the www’s or with and without the trailing back-slash. If the page is returned and yet the address that you typed in remains the same in the address bar then you could have a problem with canonicalization. The solution is simply a case of employing friendly 301 redirects (server side) to force the visitor to just one URL format for the page. At Matchmaker Marketing we consider this to be an essential basic requirement for a site which is being optimised on highly competitive search terms and which would require a huge amount of back-linking and off-site optimisation.

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Matchmaker Marketing

Google Search Engine Positioning from Matchmaker Marketing

This Altrincham, Cheshire based internet services company and online marketing agency has been providing a range of SEO and online marketing products since 2004. The company has gone from strength to strength and built upon a reputation gained primarily through the promotion of sites by employing professionally managed PPC campaigns and ‘off site’ SEO, i.e. link building. 

Now in its fifth year of business Matchmaker Marketing is introducing a comprehensive ‘organic’ SEO service. For those who may not be familiar with the workings of the internet (or SEO for that matter) ‘organic’ is a term we use to describe SEO strategies that attempt to replicate the natural organic processes of the internet itself but in a slightly accelerated manner. It’s quite simple really, yes honestly, the principals of organic SEO are quite straightforward it’s just that the strategic application of these principals often requires some professional expertise and help.

So what exactly is ‘organic’ SEO? Before we can answer this question we need to consider the nature of the search engines themselves, especially Google which is still everyone’s favorite. Google remains the number one search engine simply because of its effectiveness; we know that it will yield the most accurate, relevant and high quality results across a wide range of media. This is because Google is the culmination of years of careful development, or rather that mysterious algorithm that powers it is. Of course nobody knows quite how the Google algorithm works, not even the geekiest experts at Matchmaker Marketing know precisely what goes on, though we can interpolate the essential function of the algorithm by carefully observing ‘effects’ across the internet.

OK let’s get to the point, what do we need to consider when making a site fit for purpose (to coin a phrase) where Organic SEO is concerned?

First and foremost is something which we refer to as ‘spiderability’ or the ability of your site to provide access to search engine robots or spiders. This will enable them to gather information on your content which will be used for indexing. At Matchmaker Marketing we consider ‘content’ to include both the text that appears on the page, the mysterious meta tags and the vital title element. The title element (it’s not a tag by the way – oh no, the tag is simply the device that encloses the ‘title’ the combined thing being an element so there) is by far the most important piece of text on your website page(s); it defines the keywords to the search engines.

When the robots (spiders) visit the site they first read the title element, then the meta description  and then move on to the main heading and finally the body text or main content on the page. The trick is to have all of these items in agreement with one another but there is a particular strategy to this which must always be followed otherwise we can end up veering into the realm of spamming – which is very nasty and a bit naughty. The correct strategic approach is something that we can help with at Matchmaker Marketing.

You need to have a good link structure with the keywords in evidence; image content should be supported by alt tags, on page titles and keywords in file names and you will still need good quality relevant back links. In some ways the organic strategy is largely based upon replication of ideal naturally occurring Internet phenomena. The Google algorithm has been specifically designed (evolved even) to be able to pick up on anything that looks screwy and which indicated a proactive attempt to deliberately sway or mislead the search engines. The ‘organic’ processes of the Internet at large are those, which would allow a site to come to prominence through the accretion of connections, brought about by normal and relevant human interactions, it is literally an organic process of growth.

There is of course a little more to it than that but much of this will be covered later and is probably best left to those who are seriously geeky. It is always a good idea to consider the use of a professional SEO company such as Matchmaker Marketing if you are in any way unsure about what needs to be done with your site including back-links and hosting in order to achieve the best possible results.

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