Changing Canonical URL Structure
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I recently built a site in C5 (my first), and my client is now working with an SEO partner who is requesting (with no knowledge of the CMS in place) that all of the URLs within the site be redone. I've outlined the requests below, and ultimately I'd love to know if anyone has had success dealing with a simliar request OR if anyone with extensive C5 experience has some advice on how I should proceed. I have some ideas, but nothing really feels like the right solution. Thanks in advance for any help!
Request:
SEO request is that all pages within the site appear to or actually live within the root, despite several sections actually having tertiary level nav. So for example, instead of the following canonical URLs:
http://mywebsite.com/products-services...
http://mywebsite.com/products-services/simulation-testing...
They need to be:
http://mywebsite.com/mywebsite-long-name-seo-stuff-products-service...
http://mywebsite.com/mywebsite-another-chunk-of-seo-stuff-simulatio...
One of my initial thoughts was that I'd have to remove all hierarchy from the site, so I'd no longer have the use of C5's default navigation or page list functionality. Then, I'd create more or less a grouping of "related pages" categorized by their parent page. And then use those related pages to simulate of sub-nav/tertiary-nav throughout the site. Cumbersome and ugly I know, so hopefully someone more experienced and clever than I has some suggestions.
Other notes:
Additional page URLs don't meet this SEO guy's needs as they currently function, but perhaps there is a solution I'm overlooking there?
Request:
SEO request is that all pages within the site appear to or actually live within the root, despite several sections actually having tertiary level nav. So for example, instead of the following canonical URLs:
http://mywebsite.com/products-services...
http://mywebsite.com/products-services/simulation-testing...
They need to be:
http://mywebsite.com/mywebsite-long-name-seo-stuff-products-service...
http://mywebsite.com/mywebsite-another-chunk-of-seo-stuff-simulatio...
One of my initial thoughts was that I'd have to remove all hierarchy from the site, so I'd no longer have the use of C5's default navigation or page list functionality. Then, I'd create more or less a grouping of "related pages" categorized by their parent page. And then use those related pages to simulate of sub-nav/tertiary-nav throughout the site. Cumbersome and ugly I know, so hopefully someone more experienced and clever than I has some suggestions.
Other notes:
Additional page URLs don't meet this SEO guy's needs as they currently function, but perhaps there is a solution I'm overlooking there?
Hi Jess
This sound similar to something that I asked about a while back and was offered a solution - not sure if it helps you, but it didn't me...
http://www.concrete5.org/community/forums/customizing_c5/shallow-ur...
Right now I am working on a site and just making the structure shallow to make the URLs how I want them.
I'm also using some dummy pages with 301 redirects on them to get my URLs just so.
e.g. I have a section on "Security Doors & Windows" and all the products underneath. But I want the urls to be: /security-doors/sliding-doors/ and /security-windows/fire-escape-screen/ so I've created a dummy page for /security-doors/ & /security-windows/ and 301 redirecting them to /security-doors-windows/ which is what I have content for -- not really enough to make them individual pages... maybe one day ;)
RE: The autonav - I set up my own page attribute called "Include in Header Nav" to make the links for my site header nav. But I am forgoing some of the subpage navigation to get my URLs right and manually maintaining them in scrapbook.
Sigh - it sucks because navigation and URLs should have no direct correlation. I mean, they may correlate, but the shouldn't have to correlate. URLs are such key things on website that they need to be kept flexible... and not forced upon by the CMS.
I've never had time to dig into C5 to work it out for myself... surely there is a work-around for this so we can keep a structured sitemap and have flexible URLs.
Anyhoo... I hope my workarounds help in some way :)
- Mal
This sound similar to something that I asked about a while back and was offered a solution - not sure if it helps you, but it didn't me...
http://www.concrete5.org/community/forums/customizing_c5/shallow-ur...
Right now I am working on a site and just making the structure shallow to make the URLs how I want them.
I'm also using some dummy pages with 301 redirects on them to get my URLs just so.
e.g. I have a section on "Security Doors & Windows" and all the products underneath. But I want the urls to be: /security-doors/sliding-doors/ and /security-windows/fire-escape-screen/ so I've created a dummy page for /security-doors/ & /security-windows/ and 301 redirecting them to /security-doors-windows/ which is what I have content for -- not really enough to make them individual pages... maybe one day ;)
RE: The autonav - I set up my own page attribute called "Include in Header Nav" to make the links for my site header nav. But I am forgoing some of the subpage navigation to get my URLs right and manually maintaining them in scrapbook.
Sigh - it sucks because navigation and URLs should have no direct correlation. I mean, they may correlate, but the shouldn't have to correlate. URLs are such key things on website that they need to be kept flexible... and not forced upon by the CMS.
I've never had time to dig into C5 to work it out for myself... surely there is a work-around for this so we can keep a structured sitemap and have flexible URLs.
Anyhoo... I hope my workarounds help in some way :)
- Mal
www.www.example.com/ponies/diamond-studded-ponies-diamond-ponies-pon...
This alone or even worse when coupled with spam h1's, is actually a disaster as far as everything I have read on it, and although right now google has been lenient 6 months down the road you could be in crisis mode trying to revert back as google, and others start penalizing. My personal opinion is that Seo guy needs to be on google webmaster forum more often.
Start here, and add webmaster as group
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!overview...
Good article on seo spam
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/should-i-change-my-urls-for-seo...
I don't know if this is something you can approach, and explain without looking like your trying to avoid the work though, so you may just want to hint that they may have to change it back very soon, and explain why. There's a ton of info on it on google forum to back you up.