pageoneresults - 6:20 pm on Sep 28, 2008 (gmt 0)

When I get into issues like this, btw, I generally hire an SEO-aware programmer who specializes in this kind of stuff.

Which is the best advice given in this thread to date. The more you fumble around with it and the more your current host implement things that are not correct, the more layers of confusion you add to the indexing routines.

Often the problem also involves the setup of your ecommerce package.

Yes it does. And, most of them FAIL out of the box when dealing with Windows.

I would never rely on tech support from a hosting company, and particularly not level one tech support, to handle a situation like this. Most IT people, and even system adminstrators, in my experience simply don't get duplicate content issues, and even when they do it's often difficult or impossible to persuade them how important these issues are.

This is usually a Windows Administration challenge. You nailed it on the head too! Most Windows Server Administrators are absolutely CLUELESS! I used to be too and then got on the bandwagon, that was years ago. I can't believe that there are still Windows hosting companies that haven't gotten IT yet. That's okay, those who provide support in this area will be glad to take those clients leaving your FAILED hosting platform!

dickbaker, why not just hire someone to do this for you? I think it will be quite difficult to piece this all together for free at WebmasterWorld. And, if you are dealing with your current host, I don't think it is going to happen anytime soon. Bite the bullet and get someone in there to clean this up for you. And, if needed, change hosts too.