Google Map Maker Launched | Main | Daily Search Forum Recap: June 25, 2008

Serving Different Content Based on Search Query: Is This Allowed?

A High Rankings Forum member has an interesting question about a website he maintains. In the particular example, he is selling a niche item within a broader category. I'll use an example for illustrative purposes: he's basically selling "children's books." However, he notices that he's getting general traffic from "books" sites, though his specific focus is children's books. Now he realizes that he could potentially benefit from the "books" site traffic, so he's coded some different content to be served based on a particular search phrase. If you're searching for "books" in general, you'll get different content than if you're searching for "children's books," he explains.

Is this a problem?

High Rankings forum member rolf says it might be. It feels like a win-win situation -- you're serving the right content for your visitors while still benefiting from the traffic. But is it safe? It's hard to say. As rolf puts it, "you are technically breaking the rule about serving one thing to spiders and another to visitors."

Forum discussion continues at High Rankings.



Like The Story? Vote For It On Yahoo Buzz! Or On Sphinn!

posted Tamar Weinberg in Search Engine Optimization at June 25, 2008 9:45 AM Comments (0)

Post a comment (Note: Can Take 120 Seconds For Your Comment To Show Up)

Do you want us to save your personal Information?

Premium Sponsors + advertise

To subscribe to the Search Engine Roundtable, click here