Differring PR on same pages

oast · 2006-01-18, 12:17 PM

The front page of one of my sites has a G. PR of 5, but when I type the URL without the "www" prefix the PR drops to 2!

Even worse, one of the main landing pages inside drops from PR5 to PR0 without the "www"

My questions are:

How do I get G. to see both forms of the URL as one?
Should I get G. to see them both as one?
Does it make any difference?

My initial thought:
Use mod_rewrite to 'redirect' all links without a "www" to the 'full' URL (or the other way round - i.e. remove the "www").

Doubt:
If I did an 'Error 301 permanent redirect' to the non-www writing of the domain, will the higher PR from the "www" version be transfered with it?

I hope that makes sense... it's so much easier saying some things rather than writing them!

Thanks
Steve

fatum · 2006-01-18, 01:03 PM

Definitely you should use 301 permanent redirect. Google treats www and non-www as two different sites and even can ban your sites because of duplicate content..
Here is what i use :

Code:

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

That basically redirects all non-www request to www.domain.com
With 301 redirect pagerank will also be transferred

Linkster · 2006-01-18, 01:51 PM

#1 - yes they are different pages - however the best way to solve this is to have your server host fix their config file as its not set up the way you would want it to prevent this - its a pretty easy fix on their end and avoids using the 301s - that way it will also avoid the ww2s and wwww etc that will inevitibly happen along the way

#2 - the problem is not caused by your server but in how other people link to you - some will use the www and some wont - and google usually finds both - and really not a big deal as long as you fix your server config as above

Maj. Stress · 2006-01-18, 05:31 PM

You could be causing the problem yourself. This article explains it better than I can.
http://www.webworkshop.net/pagerank....ternal_linking

oast · 2006-01-19, 05:37 AM

Thank you for your input, guys.

fatum... that is what I was considering.

Linkster... I will ask my hosts if that can be done. I'm not sure with the company that site is on; as I haven't seen it anywhere... I can update the DNS zonefile, so it might be something I have to do myself.

Maj. Stress... I have bookmarked the article for proper reading later.

Thanks again.

Linkster · 2006-01-19, 07:29 AM

oast - take a look at your httpd.conf file if you have access to it - in the server settings there should be a UseCanonicalName On
and in the individual domain settings the Servername should have your domain with the www. in front of it
Also one question I should have asked is do you use any relative linking or is it all static? The reason is that if you have a link like href="/dir" Apache will issue a 301 redirect to the Servername plus the directory so if it doesnt have the www in the Servername that would be another way that Google could find the links without the www.

As far aschanging the conf file the host would have to do that unless you have admin rights to restart Apache I believe

oast · 2006-01-19, 08:33 AM

Linkster, the site in question is currently on shared hosting, so, no, I haven't got access to the httpd.conf file.

On my testing box at home, the ServerName has the www. in it, and a ServerAlias without. As this is, I believe, the default set-up, it should be the same on the server I use.

In answer to your links question:
I had a mixture, so, as we speak I am changing everything to absolute links and absolute references to graphics, etc.

As I do a lot of URL re-writing for ashtetic purposes, I have implemented a redirect for the non-www links (for SEO purposes, since this discovery). This will do me until the time comes to move to 'better' hosting.

On a similar note... what are your (and others) views on sub-domains as opposed to sub-folders (http://folder.domain.com/ instead of http://www.domain.com/folder/)

Linkster · 2006-01-19, 10:06 AM

the only opinion I have of subdomains vs folders is that remember that SEs consider subdomains a totally different domain, wheras a folder is the same domain.
Also dont use subdomains if you do any kind of submitting of galleries or free sites - most larger LLs and TGPs wont accept subdomains in the urls

WarChylde · 2006-01-24, 11:35 AM

This may be a little off topic but since sub-domains were mentioned I figured Id ask here. Say I have a subdomain that I want to assign a first level domain name to. Would doing this break any pre-existing incoming links to the site. The site is on a sponsor host so I dont have access to config files and cant seem to get .htaccess to work there.

2006-01-18, 01:51 PM	#3
Linkster NO! Im not a female - but being a dragon, I do eat them. Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sex Delta Posts: 5,084	#1 - yes they are different pages - however the best way to solve this is to have your server host fix their config file as its not set up the way you would want it to prevent this - its a pretty easy fix on their end and avoids using the 301s - that way it will also avoid the ww2s and wwww etc that will inevitibly happen along the way #2 - the problem is not caused by your server but in how other people link to you - some will use the www and some wont - and google usually finds both - and really not a big deal as long as you fix your server config as above __________________ Pussy Chompers Porn Links NSCash

2006-01-19, 05:37 AM	#5
oast With $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like ... love! Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK Posts: 316	Thank you for your input, guys. fatum... that is what I was considering. Linkster... I will ask my hosts if that can be done. I'm not sure with the company that site is on; as I haven't seen it anywhere... I can update the DNS zonefile, so it might be something I have to do myself. Maj. Stress... I have bookmarked the article for proper reading later. Thanks again. __________________ Playboy Webmasters - The name says it all! $35 per signup or 60% revshare.

2006-01-19, 07:29 AM	#6
Linkster NO! Im not a female - but being a dragon, I do eat them. Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sex Delta Posts: 5,084	oast - take a look at your httpd.conf file if you have access to it - in the server settings there should be a UseCanonicalName On and in the individual domain settings the Servername should have your domain with the www. in front of it Also one question I should have asked is do you use any relative linking or is it all static? The reason is that if you have a link like href="/dir" Apache will issue a 301 redirect to the Servername plus the directory so if it doesnt have the www in the Servername that would be another way that Google could find the links without the www. As far aschanging the conf file the host would have to do that unless you have admin rights to restart Apache I believe __________________ Pussy Chompers Porn Links NSCash

2006-01-19, 08:33 AM	#7
oast With $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like ... love! Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK Posts: 316	Linkster, the site in question is currently on shared hosting, so, no, I haven't got access to the httpd.conf file. On my testing box at home, the ServerName has the www. in it, and a ServerAlias without. As this is, I believe, the default set-up, it should be the same on the server I use. In answer to your links question: I had a mixture, so, as we speak I am changing everything to absolute links and absolute references to graphics, etc. As I do a lot of URL re-writing for ashtetic purposes, I have implemented a redirect for the non-www links (for SEO purposes, since this discovery). This will do me until the time comes to move to 'better' hosting. On a similar note... what are your (and others) views on sub-domains as opposed to sub-folders (http://folder.domain.com/ instead of http://www.domain.com/folder/) __________________ Playboy Webmasters - The name says it all! $35 per signup or 60% revshare.

2006-01-19, 10:06 AM	#8
Linkster NO! Im not a female - but being a dragon, I do eat them. Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sex Delta Posts: 5,084	the only opinion I have of subdomains vs folders is that remember that SEs consider subdomains a totally different domain, wheras a folder is the same domain. Also dont use subdomains if you do any kind of submitting of galleries or free sites - most larger LLs and TGPs wont accept subdomains in the urls __________________ Pussy Chompers Porn Links NSCash

2006-01-18, 12:17 PM	#1
oast With $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like ... love! Join Date: May 2004 Location: UK Posts: 316	Differring PR on same pages The front page of one of my sites has a G. PR of 5, but when I type the URL without the "www" prefix the PR drops to 2! Even worse, one of the main landing pages inside drops from PR5 to PR0 without the "www" My questions are: How do I get G. to see both forms of the URL as one? Should I get G. to see them both as one? Does it make any difference? My initial thought: Use mod_rewrite to 'redirect' all links without a "www" to the 'full' URL (or the other way round - i.e. remove the "www"). Doubt: If I did an 'Error 301 permanent redirect' to the non-www writing of the domain, will the higher PR from the "www" version be transfered with it? I hope that makes sense... it's so much easier saying some things rather than writing them! Thanks Steve __________________ Playboy Webmasters - The name says it all! $35 per signup or 60% revshare.

2006-01-18, 01:03 PM	#2
fatum Aw, Dad, you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man, and old people are useless Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 26	Definitely you should use 301 permanent redirect. Google treats www and non-www as two different sites and even can ban your sites because of duplicate content.. Here is what i use : Code: Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain.com [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [L,R=301] That basically redirects all non-www request to www.domain.com With 301 redirect pagerank will also be transferred __________________ Submit Your Gay Sites - Gay Lovers Club

2006-01-18, 05:31 PM	#4
Maj. Stress Progress rarely comes in buckets, it normally comes in teaspoons Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dark Side Of Naboo Posts: 1,289	You could be causing the problem yourself. This article explains it better than I can. http://www.webworkshop.net/pagerank....ternal_linking

2006-01-24, 11:35 AM	#9
WarChylde Aw, Dad, you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man, and old people are useless Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 22	This may be a little off topic but since sub-domains were mentioned I figured Id ask here. Say I have a subdomain that I want to assign a first level domain name to. Would doing this break any pre-existing incoming links to the site. The site is on a sponsor host so I dont have access to config files and cant seem to get .htaccess to work there. __________________ DeeCash = Rebills = LONG TERM MONEY!!!