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Search_Engine_Cloaking
| Search Engine Cloaking
Cloaking
As soon as you mention the idea of page cloaking you can be
sure that someone somewhere is going to jump to the conclusion
that you intend to cheat the search engines. There is no denying
the fact that search engine spammers have used page cloaking in
the past, and that the reputation of cloaking has been damaged
as a result. The fact remains however that there are still many
legitimate reasons for wanting to dabble in various forms of
page cloaking, so don't be too quick to judge!
What is Page Cloaking
Page cloaking is the practice of altering contents of a page
depending on the software, method and/or IP address being used
to access it. Cloaking has been made possible through the use of
server side technologies such as ASP and PHP (amongst others),
and has been abused so much in the past that it will probably
never shake off it's bad reputation.
Cloaking is used in all manor of situations, some of them you
won't even be aware of until it is pointed out to you. I'll
admit to using it on my own site, and I'm not ashamed of the
fact either!
Cloaking Methods
There are several different ways of implementing cloaking; each
is based on the environment variables that are passed to the
server as part of the actual request.
What browser/program is making the request? (HTTP_USER-AGENT)
What IP address are they trying to connect from? (REMOTE_HOST)
What page (if any) did they come from? (HTTP_REFERER)
Did they recently request a page? Have they already set
preferences? (Session data)
While the environment variables available to us can be used
independently to make generalizations and educated guesses, they
become powerful customization tools when combined.
By identifying the program used to make the request, we get an
idea of how the data will be used and the capabilities of the
browser. Suddenly we can use specialized page designs without
having to use or redirect users to different URLs depending on
what they could handle. It can also prove an effective way to
reduce needless data transfer costs; by sending only the code
the browser or bot will understand.
When we want to target groups of users based on their
geographical location or connection speed, we can use IP
addresses to make an educated guess. Different ISPs will own
different IP blocks; these ISPs may operate in a specific region
or offer only broadband services. While gathering and
maintaining current IP data can be a chore, it is probably the
best way to get information on the location of the user without
specifically asking them.
The use of referral or session data is probably the most
interesting area of cloaking however, as this is where we can
learn more about the person making the request. With a little
research, you can match visitor types by the sites they come
from and tailor the site to their needs. Referral and session
data can tell us a lot about the visitor without actually
needing to identify them; the possibilities are limited only by
the imagination!
Why use Cloaking?
There are many different reasons why people want to use page
cloaking, and while some of these can be devious in nature,
others are designed to be helpful or to standardize the user
experience. Some reasons for using page cloaking include: -
To serve known search engine bots with content optimized for
best results.
To hide the real keywords and text used for rankings from normal
visitors.
To alter the identity of the site depending on who accessed it.
To protect the server and it's contents from malicious bots or
misuse. To re-brand shared content depending on the domain name
used to access it. To limit the options available depending on
browser features or capabilities.
To iron out browser inconsistencies.
To serve relevant information to the user based on Operating
System and/or browser.
To create a more personalised experience for the visitor.
You see page cloaking is perhaps more common than you first
think, and when you look at the whole picture it doesn't seem as
bad as some people make it out to be. It's not so much whether
or not you use it, but rather how you use it.
I use ASP and dynamically edit the page to show the style sheet
optimized for the browser. Even though my server changes just
one line from one browser to the next, it is technically page
cloaking; the style sheet it serves to the visitor using Opera
is not the same style sheet it sends to the visitor using
Internet Explorer. Ironically, if I chose to use a script on the
client side to do the same thing, it would not be considered to
be page cloaking!
So why does it matter where the script is executed if they both
do the same thing?
It's all because we can look at the source code of the script
when it is on the client side; thus we can see the alternatives
that are available simply by looking at the way the script
works. On the server side however, all the logic is hidden away
in some script or server module and we only see the results of
the server's decision; not how it came to the conclusion on how
it should respond to the request.
The Dark side of Cloaking
The use of cloaking is controversial because of the way it has
been abused in the past. Some search engine optimisers use it in
their promotional campaigns to serve pages optimised for each of
the search engines. While this may seem unfair to other site
owners fighting for rankings with the same keywords, some of the
arguments for doing so are certainly feasible.
Why increase the visitors download time by including Meta tags
they don't normally see?
Why send images to the search engines when all they really look
at is the text? Why should they share keyword lists they spend
the time researching?
All the reasons above may seem rather selfish, but just because
a Webmaster wants to minimize their data transfer costs and
protect the investment of their time and effort does not make
them an unethical person. Only when the topic of the alternative
pages strays from the page the visitor sees can the practice of
optimizing for the search engines in this way be deemed to be
unethical. There is a fine line between optimizing a page for
the search engines and misleading them altogether!
Page jacking occurs when a site owner takes the source code of
a page that performs well in the search engines and cloaks it
behind their own site. If this is done properly, a search engine
spider will see the optimized page and do one of two things;
improve the ranking of the unrelated site, or remove the
original site from their indexes. This unethical use of cloaking
is unfortunately difficult to spot, and is one of the reasons
why the use of cloaking is so controversial.
Is Cloaking all that Bad?
Lets forget for a moment the role and ethics of using cloaking
for promotion and concentrate on the human factor. After all the
main interest of any site owner should be the thoughts and
feelings of their visitors.
Given the choice, I'm sure you would like to make your web site
more intelligent. Does this particular visitor use a Mac or a
PC? Opera, Netscape or Internet Explorer? Why should you waste
the user's time by asking them for information that is readily
available by the way their browser identifies itself? Wouldn't
it be easier to just establish how best to optimize the page
source code for the user's browser and operating system before
they get it? By establishing details from the user agent string
and determining IP addresses, it is also possible to make an
educated guess at the best default language or localized
settings. It would be far more convenient if your visitors
didn't need to convert the prices into their own currency or
search through a long list of international branches to find
their nearest store! Although the examples used above describe
the use of program identification and IP address to customize
the user experience, user-friendly cloaking scripts can also
make use of things such as referrer and session data. Knowing
that a visitor came from a search engine while looking for a
particular keyword gives you a great opportunity to optimise the
page for better conversions. This can even work for
informational sites; if they came to that page looking for
information, there is a chance that they might be interested in
buying a book on the subject!
Cloaking could also be used to protect yourself, your site and
your visitors in a variety of ways. For example, it can be used
to: -
Ban IPs of known email harvesters (useful if you run a community
site).
Minimise the damage and cost of bots flooding the server.
Filter out questionable content from visitors that enter from a
child oriented site.
Limit access by countries that require it by law or who are
likely to find the site content objectionable.
Disable site features such as order forms to those surfing from
problem IP addresses or countries thought to be involved with
fraud.
Such legitimate uses of cloaking ought not to be penalized by
the search engines. However the activities of site owners that
optimize for the engines have meant that those that dare to
implement such features to their site run the risk of being
banned by the search engines.
The Future could be Bright!
The use of cloaking is sure to become more commonplace as time
goes on. Not everyone will hold back on implementing features
that improve the usability of their site just because they are
worried they will be banned by the search engines.
It would be sad to see the legitimate use of cloaking thwarted
by the minority of site owners who choose to use it purely to
achieve higher rankings through deception. Cloaking has the
scope to make sites seem far more intelligent than they are, to
the point where it becomes invisible to the vast majority of
people who visit the site that use it.
Wouldn't it be nice to make a visitor feel more "at home" on
your site the first time they visit it? Or to provide
alternatives to those with limited access so they don't have to
miss out entirely?
Cloaking can make such features a reality. If we are willing to
let it!
If, you are determined to possibly reap the big rewards as
well, Click Here!
< d> < r> < able>
James O’Keefe is the owner of My Millionaire
Friend. offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world
advice on how to make money with your website. Visit his site or
join his FREE newsletter by sending a blank email to mailto:newslette
r@mymillionairefriend.com.
< d> < r> < able>
< d>< r>
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James O’Keefe is the owner of My Millionaire Friend
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on how to make money with your website. Visit his site or join
his FREE newsletter, by sending a blank email to mailto:newslette
r@mymillionairefriend.com.
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About the author:
James O’Keefe is the owner of My Millionaire Friend
offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice
on how to make money with your website. Visit his site or join
his FREE newsletter, by sending a blank email to mailto:newslette
r@mymillionairefriend.com.
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