ClickZ Experts on Cloaking 9Summary of recent debate)
ClickZ Experts on Search Engine Optimization:Lets define cloaking not in technical terms but by the end result:
Cloaking is getting a search engine to record content for a URL that is different from what a searcher will ultimately see, often intentionally.
Google: "The term 'cloaking' is used to describe a website that returns altered webpages to search engines crawling the site. In other words, the webserver is programmed to return different content to Google than it returns to regular users, usually in an attempt to distort search engine rankings.
Inktomi: Pages that give the search engine a different page than the public sees (cloaking).
Teoma: Web pages that show different content than the spidered pages.
Only Google suggests a technical definition with its statement about a Web server programmed to deliver custom content. I'm being broader than this, but I think that fits well with other Google guidelines warning against hiding information from users.
Indeed, "cloaking is hiding," summarizes search engine marketer Jill Whalen, who published Perkins's article in her popular High Rankings Advisor newsletter. She diligently followed the ensuing debate on the ihelpyou forums and WebmasterWorld.com. Both threads provide excellent views on this subject.
Another crucial difference between my definition and Perkins' is I do not automatically equate cloaking with spam. It's an important distinction if the goal is to help educate people about cloaking's potential problems.
It's also important, because AltaVista and FAST don't actually say "don't cloak" in their Webmaster guidelines. Both, together with Inktomi and Teoma, arguably allow cloaking via XML feeds.
Even Google, despite its ban, might be considered to allow cloaking when some "everyone cloaks" examples are employed. Anyone who thinks these arguments will protect them if caught cloaking will likely lose the battle. We'll come back to this.
To Win for Free, Focus on Content
Cloaking often goes hand in hand with low-quality doorway pages, which search engines often regard as spam. If you consider cloaking, it's probably because you're creating content you hope will please a search engine algorithm rather than content that should exist to please human visitors. Such efforts are often time-consuming, don't yield desired results, and may only work for a short time.
All search engines reward good content. This is partially so because good content attracts crucial links everyone wants. Focus on content. When it comes to getting listed "for free" in the major crawlers' editorial results, you're playing the smart, long-term game."
posted by Jen @ 5:59 AM
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