paynt - 2:45 pm on Jul 23, 2002 (gmt 0)

If we consider that every page is a doorway to your site then I think we’re looking at this with the proper

mid-2002 - JayC

focus.

A few years ago what we then called ‘doorway’ pages were very popular, worked great to draw in traffic, were not ‘included’ as actual content for the site, were often cloaked, and on and on.

I think many of us as professionals in the industry today have moved beyond this interpretation of the antique ‘doorway’ page but, that doesn’t mean we aren’t using them. What we’re doing is now building them into the site. Every page is now legitimately contributing to the site. We don’t need ‘orphan’ pages.

First we have the plan. The, “What’s this site about?” with an analysis and strategy to get there. In optimization terms it’s still about keywords and now we’re building the site around them with legitimate content.

To address your initial questions Sharron, along with a big welcome to Webmaster World, I would suggest the following:

…two companies in the running now one of which recommends the use of doorway pages to improve listings

Have them define exactly what they mean by ‘doorway page’, what that includes and entails. Get very specific on this. Do they mean the antique version I mentioned above or are they suggesting the new ‘mid-2002’ version of suggesting ways to make the actual content of your site optimized ‘doorways’ to your site?

…I have been told that the only way round this is if you can get the engine to think it is a page from a directory

Well, ‘the only way around’ comment stops me. I admit that is a way that works but I wouldn’t opt for it without first developing a plan based on a sound analysis that fits into your strategy for creating your web presence. Do you want your site to be a directory? If so there are some planning and design considerations you’ll want to look at before opting for this method. I wouldn’t lock myself into anything without first really considering the options.

…Does any 1 know if SEs are starting to penalise sites for using doorway pagers to improve rankings

You figured it out with the ‘orphan’ part. If it’s not a legitimate addition to the site, if it’s there only to ‘fool’ the engines and misrepresent visitors then watch out.