Request a Website Audit to Get Your Marketing on the Right Track! Get Started ->

Web Savvy Marketing

We are web designers, SEO consultants, bloggers, social media enthusiasts, and WordPress experts all rolled up into one.

  • Home
  • Our Agency
    • Industries We Serve
    • Sample Client List
    • Testimonials
    • Charitable Contributions
    • Events and Community Involvement
  • Website Design
  • SEO Consulting
  • Blog
    • Search Engine Optimization Articles
    • Website Development Articles
    • WordPress Articles
  • Contact

11.23.09 Website Development

When a Website Designer’s Good Intentions Go Bad

Today I am meeting with a client to review the design and build of his new website.  Quite frankly I’m not looking forward to this meeting.  I am the barrier of bad news.

When I originally accepted this project, I could see Google had indexed about 1,000 pages within his domain.  While it would take some time to migrate and optimize this many pages, I was up for the challenge.  The goal is to give him a more SEO friendly site that he can maintain himself in WordPress. If that meant throwing in some plugins and optimizing 1,000 pages, so be it.

Last week I reviewed his Google Analytics reports, dug deeper into his content pages, and investigated his existing website’s structure.  Through Google Analytics I could see he didn’t have 1,000 pages, he had about 10,000 pages.  Why were they not showing up in Google’s index?  Well I figured this out a bit later as I reviewed page by page content on his existing website.  Of these 10,000 pages, about 3,000 or so are the exact same pages.  Okay, three different pages, but applied to 1,000 different products.  You may be asking yourself so what and thinking I am a drama queen.  To me, the drama queen, all I saw was a big red flag waving with a large Google logo hovering overheard.  This was trouble with a capital T.

These 3,000 plus pages represent duplicate content to Google.  Why would Google cloud their index with 3,000 pages of the exact same content?  Google won’t do it.  It would simply corrode the overall search results, which would frustrate Google users, so Google is not going to do it.  Google will also most likely penalize the overall site for this mass amount of duplicated content.

I have already told my client I will not migrate this duplicate content.  The SEO consultant in me cannot do it, because I know it is wrong.  The website designer in me won’t do it, because I know it will degrade the user experience as well.  So I get to now explain this to my client and hope he understands that my intentions are good.

Now I will return to his website, his Google Analytics reports, and to the broken sitemaps to see what else lurks beneath the covers of this existing website.  I believe my 3,000 pages of duplicate content is only the tip of the iceberg and I am afraid the Titanic is getting ready to go down.

Tags: Google Analytics, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Websites

Like this article?

Sign up and receive weekly updates via email. Don't worry, we value your privacy and we hate spam just as much as you do.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Rebecca Gill's avatar

Rebecca Gill

Rebecca is the founder and president of Web Savvy Marketing, a Michigan digital marketing agency. She has a well-rounded business background within SMB and enterprise organizations, as well as over fifteen years of experience in sales and online marketing. She provides SEO consulting services for clients, SEO coaching on Clarity.fm, teaches SEO at diySEOcourses.com, and has a weekly podcast at SEObits.fm. Learn more at RebeccaGill.com.

Request a Website Audit

Did you try a DIY website audit checklist, only to find you missed the important items that would truly influence your SEO, traffic, and revenue? What you really need is a professional website audit to keep your website and SEO healthy.Request Your Audit

Browse the Blog by Category

  • Branding (8)
  • Community Involvement (37)
  • Content Marketing (11)
  • Internet Marketing (60)
  • Search Engine Optimization (93)
  • Social Media (24)
  • Website Development (59)
  • WordPress (92)

The Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Learn what SEO is and why it matters to your website or blog. Download the free eBook and start your SEO journey.Download the eBook

Let's Create Something Together

We'd love to help you create something amazing.
Reach out to us and tell us about your vision.Say Hello

Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency

TwitterYoutubeFacebookLinkedinGoogle +

About Us

  • Our Digital Marketing Agency
  • Industries We Serve
  • Client Testimonials
  • Community Events
  • Charitable Contributions

Design and SEO Services

  • Logo Design
  • Website Design
  • Custom WordPress Themes
  • PSD to Genesis
  • SEO Consulting

WordPress Services

  • WordPress Customizations
  • Support and Maintenance
  • WordPress Upgrades
  • WordPress Migrations
  • WordPress Training
Made With Love in Michigan | Copyright © 2009 - 2022 Web Savvy Marketing | All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Sitemap