Here are some takeaways from Adam Lasnik's latest post at WebmasterWorld, see post number 3208854 or post # 70 in that thread.
- Boilerplate content is "huge swaths of text repeated on every page, such as an obnoxiously long legal footers"
- Product pages that are the same but only differentiate themselves by color may be filtered out (Google will show one of the several colors you have)
- Typically Google won't penalize you for linking from your .de site to your .com site; "penalties for country-domain cross-linking isn't something I have seen"
- Go with the country specific TLDs, using index.de.html or de.example.com won't make a difference to Google. TLDs and language used on the page does.
- Is the sandbox effect time bound? "No, it's not a universal truth that all domains take a year (or [insert time period]) to get indexed. As Matt and I have both noted, there are many variables at play and while some sites will indeed take longer to be more comprehensively indexed, many will not."
- "Our algorithms take a look at their pages and (computerwise) ask, "What value is this site providing that users can't get from other sites or even the 'mothership'? (originator of content)"
- Google may add a tool to Webmaster Central that is a sort of "Duplicate Content Filter Meter" (I doubt it), since he said, "The fact that duplicate content isn't very cut and dry for us either (e.g., it's not "if more than [x]% of words on page A match page B...") makes this a complicated prospect."
- Similar / Identical content on .com and .mobi should not be an issue of duplicate content
I think we got some good tips from that post.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
The big take away is that the question people ask me a ton, what is the percentage difference between page A and page B for them not to be seen as duplicate content.
The fact that duplicate content isn't very cut and dry for us either (e.g., it's not "if more than [x]% of words on page A match page B...") makes this a complicated prospect.
There is no exact percentage is what I have been telling people.
Forum discussion on this specific quote at Cre8asite Forums.
