Expired Listings / Empty Search Results

[seymourjames +]

One of the problems with any dynamic site is duplicate content and how to minimize it. Duplicate or nearly identical content on different urls is discounted by search engines. Some would suggest it even has a detrimental affect on rankings. For example, a search engine merrily starts to re-index listings which have expired. The issue is something needs to be done so that the content of each expired listing (url) are not identical or they are considered off limits to the search engine (excluded).

The choices are to exclude these urls in a robots text file (potentially complicated to do automtically), push "nofollow" into the metatags (likewise complicated to do automatically) or provide fresh content to these urls.

A technique to overcome the problem of duplicate content, which we recommend at Templatecodes, is to present random data on an expired listing. We also suggest including another advanced search, right in front of the visitor if they fall upon one of these urls. We want to keep these urls because some of them may attract traffic or contribute positively to the overall ranking of the site.

What we do is to use our global search module for example and our css horizontal listings. A full search is then immediately displayed on expired listings (a good practice as further clicks to make a search are not required). Then just below, display a random set of css horizontal listings. The search engine then comes back to an expired listing and sees not an identical page of no content but one which has changed and offers substantially different content.

We also suggest using exactly the same technique when a search is carried out but there are no search results. In this case, the random content and search is being served not so much for search engines but for visitors. A search can be carried out immediately without further clicks to the normal search url.