I really like the quick tabs module but one thing has disturbed me lot regarding it, even forcing me to stop using it.

After creating quick tabs blocks I noticed in Google Webmaster Tools that the module is creating duplicate node URLs with "?quicktabs_1=0" or something similar at the end.

For example, URL http://example.com/xxxx-yyyyy-zzzzzzz is duplicated as http://example.com/xxxx-yyyyy-zzzzzzz?quicktabs_1=0. If the same original URL is shown through some other quick tabs block, one more instance gets created in the similar fashion. This continues as long as you keep on creating more and more quick tabs blocks.

Such content is certainly taken as duplicate content by the search engines including google and they penalize the offenders in return. Though Google can be stopped from viewing such instances of original URL by adding wild cards in the robots.txt file but what about other search engines which do not supports wild cards.

This is certainly a big issue with quick tabs module that I thinks is needed to be addressed immediately.

Comments

pasqualle’s picture

pasqualle
Location 🇭🇺 Budapest
commented

google can handle that
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/09/google-duplicate-cont...

the url parameter is required in the tab link for the correct functionality. without it there is no indication that the first tab should be clicked.
/something and /something?quicktab_1=0 is not the same if #299982: Random top tab or #401594: Can QuickTabs display the latest updated tab by default when page loaded? is implemented on the site.

nikmahajan’s picture

nikmahajan commented

Ok, I removed the Quick Tabs module from my site almost 10 days ago but still those duplicate URLS are showing up in Webmaster tools. Infact there number has just increased to 3 times now. I am using robots.txt to bar these URLs but I am seeing Google penalizing my content because of duplicacy in URLs.

I am very much worried now as the site's traffic is decreasing. And I don't see any other issue with my site other than this one.

sk33lz’s picture

sk33lz commented

There is a new module that will fix this issue for you. Canonical URL. It uses the new Meta tag adopted by all the major search engines. It basically tells robots that there is a specific URL that you want to use for a given page, or set of pages. These sorted URLs that are giving you duplicate content will be handled as your main node URL by robots once you set this up.

http://drupal.org/project/canonical_url

As for the OP, try removing the URLs specifically in your Webmaster Tools account if you really want to delete them from the index. FYI - You will not be able to include them again if you turn the module back on ;)

nikmahajan’s picture

nikmahajan commented

Yeah I know about Canonical URL module. Did the installation just three days ago. I am waiting to see how Google and other search engines are going to take this now. Will they still take those pages as duplicate instances or something else is going to happen, I would be able to tell you about this after few days only.

BTW, please clear me on one thing. When I have removed the quick tabs module and have refreshed the cache also, why duplicate instances of the same URL are still getting created with "?quicktabs_1=0" etc at the end.

garbo’s picture

garbo commented

@nikmahajan

Did you uninstall the module? This would remove all mysql tables created by the module.

pasqualle’s picture

pasqualle
Location 🇭🇺 Budapest
commented

If you disable the Quick Tabs module then you do not have quicktabs any more, and you do not have ?quicktabs in the urls. The Quick Tabs module does not store any url, does not create any additional path or url alias.
Most probably there is something wrong with the application used for checking the urls..

garbo’s picture

garbo commented

Could it be the Pathauto module still storing those old URL's?

pasqualle’s picture

pasqualle
Location 🇭🇺 Budapest
commented

no, as quicktab links are not paths..

nikmahajan’s picture

nikmahajan commented

I found those URLs in my Google Webmaster account, so there is no chance of them being wrong. If Google is catching them there is certainly something to worry about. Because I have disallowed it through wildcard I can see the number getting lowered in Webmasters account.

Quicktabs module was disabled and uninstalled through Drupal's Module interface and then I removed the files using FTP client.

giorgio79’s picture

giorgio79 commented

You can use robots.txt to prevent bots from accessing that content with a wildcard, sg like
/*quicktabs...
Any urls containing quicktabs will be discarded.

JennySmith’s picture

JennySmith commented

I have experienced this same drop in the SERPs after installing Quicktabs. I have set URLs containing 'quicktabs' to be ignored using the Google webmasters tools with no measurable effect.

Refreshing which cache gives you the quicktabs URLs? Google's webmaster thing does not recrawl your website constantly, so it's very possible the links showing there are old. Your site will not have any quicktabs links if the blocks containing them do not display, but if Google has listed those as "pages" on your site, they could be still in some table somewhere on Google's end.

I am now editing my robots.txt file to see if that helps block the duplicate content problems; otherwise I'll be uninstalling quicktabs, too.

bryancasler’s picture

bryancasler commented

For anyone else reading this, add the following in robots.txt

Disallow: /*quicktabs_*

JennySmith’s picture

JennySmith commented

It's been a month, so here's the follow up -- adding the restriction in robots.txt did help. Some 50,000 "duplicate" entries were blocked.

I still have a few pages of duplicate entries listed at Google, but I'm sure those will come off soon.

philbar’s picture

philbar commented
Title: Why Quick Tabs create duplicate node URLs ? » Add Canonoical Tags to Quicktab Pages to Prevent SEO Duplicate
Status: Active » Closed (duplicate)

Duplicate: #354867: SEO: Add Canonical Tags to Quicktab Pages