How to keep generating fresh content?

Without getting duplicates?

[aggie12thman]

My site topic has at least 50 different unique search targets that have plenty of demand. I know it's not good to copy the same content over and over again for different pages just to capture rank for multiple search topics.

How do you guys change your pages enough to talk about the same subject over and over and not get penalized? My goal is to attract traffic to the internal pages and direct them to my product selection/guide page. This page will help my customers determine which product is right for them. However, I don't want to get caught in the Google Penalty Box for roughing.

thanks for your help

[greenspan]

hmmmm. 50 pages, they wouldn't be states or something like that would they?

[aggie12thman]

No, really there are a lot of different searches for the same topic.

[jalessi]

I have the same situation and would like to hear opinions on a suggested strategy.

[Marketing Guy]

I assume your talking about phrases like:

Blue widgets in the UK
UK Blue Widgets
Blue UK Widgets

..that are basically the same, but people search for one thing in many different ways?

If so how about you try to find articles on the subject area that you could use and optimise each one for a different phrase.

I have a similar problem where one of my subject areas is split equally between 2 phrases.

I now have 2 articles on the subject. I was lucky though, as one I wrote myself, and the other was contributed to the site by someone else and didnt need much optimisation.

Worse comes to the worst, then write all the articles yourself from different viewpoints and stick different names creditted to them.

Alternatively (or as well) you could have:

>blue widget information
>blue widget sales page
>blue widget alternate useage
>blue widget maintence
>blue widget repairs
>blue widget suppliers listings
> etc etc

Basically - look at the content you have just now and the keywords you target and the ones you want to target.

Can you split down your existing content into different pages and add to each? Are you briefly covering a subject area that you could dedicate a page to?

Scott :)

[digitalghost]

>>My site topic has at least 50 different unique search targets

Only 50? ;)

I visit my competition first and do as much log leeching as I can. Find the phrases that get them 2-4 hits per month. Optimize for those. Do the same thing for phrases in your client's logs.

Then jump over to Google Sets [labs.google.com] and see what terms come up that are relevant.

Then grab a thesaurus and see if you can expand your phrase set to 100 or more.

Use testimonials and title them to reflect phrases you want to target. Use a page per testimonial.

Then use some old standby tricks like:

Blue Widgets - What Makes Our Blue Widgets Different.
Blue Widget - Are Blue Widgets The Right Choice
Custom Blue Widget (substitute other adjectives for "custom".

"special feautures of blue widgets" can lead to quite a few pages.

Don't forget to visit OV's Term Tool [inventory.overture.com] but don't use it to find the most searched for terms, use it to find variations on your terms. They call it a "term suggestion tool" not a "term popularity indicator".

If you have one widget and there are 50 different ways to find it there's a reason.

As for the actual body content you might have to stretch it a bit. If you're using 5 paras to describe it use 3, add "quick facts" or "product features".

Think of 10 ways that widget will save time, make life easier, better or more more productive.

If you're selling a service write about 10 ways your service is superior and tuck 10 phrases into ten pages. Write a history of your widget business. Write about the creation of those widgets. Write about life without those widgets. Write a widget FAQ. Create widget coupons. (you can snag 10 phrases with 10 pages of widget coupons). Got a free widget? Tell them. What about discounted widgets? Widget Return Policy? Widget instructions?

I know all of those won't apply, but a few should. Have fun with it and write, write and write. ;)

[aggie12thman]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, excellent posting.

One last thing. Is there a guideline somewhere to reference how similar a page should not be? For instance, my first paragraph reads the same on many different pages, but then the text changes. The first paragraph is needed to explain what the customer needs to do to find out which product is right for them. Then the rest of the page goes on to discuss that particular search engine target phrase.

Will Google penalize me for having the same paragraph on the top of the page?

[martinibuster]

Will Google penalize me for having the same paragraph on the top of the page?

This is one of the most important spots for content. Since it should contain the keywords/phrase you're targeting, then it follows that the first paragraph should always be different.

I would turn the paragraph into a graphic (if space and legibility is an issue, use a non-aliased mini-font (Hint: Do a site-search for silkscreen).

[steve]

Go to google groups and search for your keywords.

I often find ideas for new pages there.