Search Talk - Video 1 Same URL Twice for Hotels in Istanbul
May 20, 2016
SEARCH TALK
Michael Ramirez Answers the Real World SEO Questions You’re Asking @SearchRPM on Twitter.
TODAY’S QUESTION:
Google’s showing the same URL twice in the search results for the query “hotels in Istanbul”. What’s up with that?
Rafael Rubio asked a question that may have come time mind during some of your own Google searches. Every now and then you may notice that the search results include the same URL more than once. It could be a glitch in the system, but more likely it’s SEO at play.
Google does their best to deliver the most relevant results to the end user. SEO consultants want to make sure their clients are on the short list (i.e. top 10) of results for a particular query. How can we increase the odds of that happening?
Let’s look at the situation surrounding Rafael’s question. In this scenario geographically targeted content is likely being used. At SearchRPM if our client provides goods and services to a certain area we would target the content so that it reflects the specific region. In this case it would be Istanbul.
Ranking for localized terms, such as hotels in Istanbul, is improved when it’s clear that you serve the area. Creating targeted content tells search engines and users that you operate in a city or region.
We go a few steps further by going into a client’s Google search console and targeting the site’s content to a specific geographic area. It’s also important to use language to your advantage. If English isn’t the official language or commonly spoken in a region we’ll set up the language on the website for the target audience.
All of these things help Google show appropriate results to your target market more effectively. It essentially helps Google do its job of delivering meaningful information based on the query.
Rafael likely saw two pages of the same URL for a single query because they have done a good job optimizing their content to include information on hotels in Istanbul. Not the Middle East or Turkey, but Istanbul specifically. Their content is targeted to the point that Google considers the site to be so authoritative on Istanbul hotels it shows up twice in the SERPs.
WANT TO KNOW SEO?
If you have an SEO question, conundrum or curiosity let us know! Tweet us @SearchRPM and your question may just be featured in the next Search Talk video.
You can see more Search Talk segments on our SearchRPM YouTube channel. Check it out!
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By Michael Ramirez
SearchRPM Founder
