RSS Feeds and Paginated pages have no value.
Disallowing RSS feeds (rss really simple syndication) and pagination from being crawled by Google can be beneficial for a website’s SEO strategy.
The crux of the issue revolves around the efficient use of Google’s crawl budget, the prevention of content duplication, and ensuring that only high-value content is indexed, thereby enhancing a site’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Efficient Use of Crawl Budget
Google allocates a certain amount of server resources, known as a “crawl budget,” for indexing each website. This budget is not infinite, and wasting it on low-value pages like RSS feeds, paginated pages, or redundant tag and category pages means less budget is available for indexing the core, unique content of the site.
RSS really simple syndication feeds, while useful for syndicating content to subscribers, do not contribute to a website’s search engine ranking. Similarly, pagination can lead to numerous low-content pages being indexed, diluting the overall quality of the site in Google’s eyes.
Key points:
- Google’s crawl budget is limited; prioritizing content is essential.
- RSS feeds and pagination can waste the crawl budget, affecting core content indexing.
- Low-content pages dilute site quality, impacting Google’s perception.
Prevention of Content Duplication
Disallowing certain types of content from being crawled is to prevent duplicate content issues. Search engines penalize sites that have substantial amounts of duplicate content, as it can be seen as an attempt to manipulate search rankings.
Pagination, tags, and category pages often contain the same or similar content that appears elsewhere on the site, leading to potential penalties or reduced search visibility.
Takeaways:
- Duplicate content can lead to search engine penalties.
- Pagination and certain pages often replicate content, risking SEO penalties.
- Avoiding crawling on such content can reduce duplication issues.
Focusing on High-Value Content
By restricting the indexing of pages and RSS feeds that do not significantly contribute to the site’s value, webmasters can ensure that Google’s attention—and crawl budget—is focused on content that enhances the site’s SEO.
High-quality, unique pages are more likely to rank well in SERPs, driving organic traffic to the site. This approach requires a well-thought-out site structure and sitemap, emphasizing the importance of SEO from the very beginning of the website design and development process.
Key Points:
- Prioritizing indexing of high-value pages improves SEO.
- Quality content is more likely to rank well, driving organic traffic.
- A strategic site structure and sitemap are crucial from the start.
Canonical Tags and Indexing Errors
Excessive use of tags and poor site structure can lead to a plethora of “canonical” and “unable to index” notifications in Google Search Console. These issues signal that Google is struggling to understand the site’s content hierarchy, leading to potential misinterpretations of content importance and relevance.
By simplifying the site structure and limiting the indexing of low-value pages, webmasters can reduce these errors and improve the site’s overall SEO health.
Key Points:
- Tags and poor structure can cause indexing errors and canonical issues.
- Simplifying site structure reduces these errors, enhancing SEO health.
- Correct site structure helps Google understand content relevance.
Analyzing Top-Ranking Sites
A practical exercise for understanding the importance of a streamlined sitemap and site structure is to analyze top-ranking sites within your niche.
By examining their sitemap.xml files and using the “site:domainname.com” search query, (without quotes) it becomes evident that these sites rarely, if ever, include paginated, tagged, or category pages in their sitemaps or found in the search engine indexes.
This observation is the strategy of focusing on high-value content to achieve top-level positions in SERPs.
Key Points:
- Analysis of top sites shows they exclude low-value pages from sitemaps and indexes.
- This emphasizes the importance of focusing on high-value content for ranking.
- A streamlined sitemap and site structure are common traits of top-ranking sites.
In the long term
Of course, subscribing to RSS feeds is important disallowing RSS feeds, pagination, and excessive tags from being crawled by Google is a strategic decision aimed at optimizing a website’s crawl budget, preventing content duplication, and focusing on indexing high-value content.
This approach not only improves a site’s SEO performance but also enhances its visibility and ranking in search engine results. By prioritizing a well-structured sitemap and site hierarchy, webmasters can ensure that their SEO efforts lead to sustainable, long-term success in the highly competitive digital landscape.
