Next time you input your name as “SEO Consultant” I will delete your comment altogether instead of just changing your name.
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Yes, having the same content resolve at two or more separate URLs can cause duplicate content issues. While Google claims to “have it covered”, I prefer to not leave too much to chance and not rely on Google’s algorithm to figure stuff out on it’s own, if I can help it.

thanks for the reply and comment. Ahh yes I see your email addy now, I must have been searching with my man-eyes :p

I’m using the plugin you suggested now and think it’s much better. Re your NOINDEX, are you saying that with some wordpress themese that have a category option if you read the same post within your site at two different URL locations you could be penalised for duplicate content on your own site??

p.s. I updated my post to link here and to your pet insurance site – hope it helps

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1) I have added the “noindex” argument to my category pages in an attempt to prevent duplicate content issues within my site. Therefore, I see no reason to encourage the search engines to follow the links to the category pages only to find a “noindex” tag upon arrival.

2) Yes…it is partially to avoid leaking unnecessary PR from individual pages and posts, or so goes the theory. Whether or not it makes any difference is debatable.

I can’t say that adding the NOFOLLOW command to the links to my category pages has actually “preserved” any PR. What I can tell you is that it has had no apparent negative impact.

I see no reason, in this particular case anyway, to remove it. Especially since the primary reason for the NOFOLLOW in this instance is to try to prevent the search engines from following links to “noindex” pages.

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Did you REGISTER? If not, read my most recent post.

P.S. If you ever want to e-mail me directly, there is a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page.

I noticed your top page links i.e. “seo in general” and “onsite SEO” links are nofollow. Is this an SEO technique to have most Pagerank on your main site?
If so, is it good practice to make most of the navigation links on your main page as nofollow to maximise it’s Pagerank, if that was what you were trying to acheive?

p.s. I was going to email you but found it very hard to find any sort of contact details…

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I think that’s where huge companies, and some ethically-challenged individuals, cause irreparable damage to the reputation of the industry by attempting to pad their revenues offering “SEO Consultation”. What they don’t do is properly explain that the consultation itself is ALL they get for their investment – not an increased search engine presence or any of the work required to achieve it! Leaving many site owners with the incorrect impression that SEO as a whole has no value.

I was reading a post at the Chicago SCORE web site today regarding how to choose an SEO consultant (always looking to see what others in our industry think about such things and how they communicate the challenges to clients) and found a link to this post in that one… (links are our life-blood often-times are they not?)

Anyhow, I just need to say thank you for writing such a well thought out post, and using that nasty little title to draw us in! Personally, what I prefer to do in my own work is to offer my services without making a line-item option for pure consultation work.

What I typically do is explain that before I can provide them a proposal for the actual SEO work, is that I need to perform a full analysis of their existing web presence, a competitive review, and a fairly detailed action plan, from which I can then provide an estimate regarding how much work will then be required in the SEO process.

I found however, that a few clients who were willing to pay for that service then took that “action plan” to their current web designers and said – “Here – optimize my site”…

Well okay – so I was giving away too much information, only to see designers or developers who really don’t know SEO attempt to implement my plan. Fortunately for my business model, they almost always end up being truly lost and admitting it to the site owner.

One time, the day after I sent a client the analysis / action plan, I literally got a call from their designer saying “Can you explain this?” Needless to say, that client eventually went on to hire me to do the real work.

Nowadays I am much more careful to communicate up front that the information I provide is a general guideline that lays out all the various aspects of what is needed, but that implementation is both a science and an art form, and unless the client is willing to learn a new trade and craft, there will only be so many aspects of that plan they or their designer will be able to implement themselves…

Ah the notion of a car owner with no formal training thinking they can fix a fuel injection system just because the mechanic’s estimate says “ECU providing faulty information to injector causing incorrect pulse width”…

It really is all about educating clients and their vendors, and just as much about knowing when to put the extra caveats in writing…

I’m glad I’ve helped you understand the value of SEO consultations, outsourcestaff…if you’re capable of doing the research and educating yourself on SEO without a consultant, KUDOS! You’ll be able to use those dollars from your marketing budget elsewhere.

I know exactly what you mean, Seo Ireland…some people just can’t grasp the concepts of SEO and should never hire a consultant to begin with. Those people need to understand their limitations and hire an SEO to do the work for them in the first place.

I agree 100% with the information you presented here.

As an SEO consultant, one of the critical phases in any SEO engagement is in setting the right expectations (imo). If you can’t do that, you’re starting off with one strike against you.

This is a great post – thanks very much for sharing your thoughts!

It is essential the clients understand what “SEO Consultation” is before ever committing to it. If they are not willing to put forth the time and effort to follow the plan suggested during the consultation they will see absolutely no ROI.