Password-Protected Pages and SEO
Another obvious mistake that newbies sometimes make is putting
copy and images behind password-protected pages that it would
like for the search engines to index. This is done many times
for websites that offer subscription, membership into exclusive
organizations or for sensitive matter not everyone should
be privileged to see.
But, password-protected pages to the search engines mean
move on, don't pass Go and don't collect $200. Since search
engines cannot by design guess the passwords to a page, they
will simply move on to pages that they can crawl and index
while being rebuffed by the protected page.
Web business owners many times have to make hard decisions
as to what content to keep inside of password protected pages
and what to put outside. Some websites such as news oriented
sites will put teaser articles outside the password protected
pages but the meat of the stories inside, which encourages
users to sign up or sign in.
Some message boards are also examples of this that will give
limited access and content until one registers and receives
extra privileges. Ultimately, it is the online business owner
who has to decide what to put inside of password protected
pages and what to put on the outside.
But, be assured, just like visitors, the search engines will
not travel where they are not wanted, so be sure to give the
SE's enough to chew on if you want decent rankings for your
pages.
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