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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