All In One SEO PACK Configuration - Index or Noindex?

[webestate]

I'm finding conflicting information about the right way to configure the All in One SEO Pack wordpress plugin.

Do I index or noindex for the items below?

Use noindex for Categories - yes or no?

Use noindex for Archives - yes or no?

Use noindex for Tag Archives - yes or no?

[webestate]

Thanks Phil I guess my main concern is avoiding duplicate content situations. So it sounds like only allowing categories to be indexed is the best bet

[PracticeFusion]

Hi Nathan,

Despite using a different plugin, I think Dan's advice still applies.

In general I suggest INDEXing the categories. Make these your keyword rich overarching categories.

For archives, I'll general NOINDEX those. They're likely not providing a lot of value to searchers, and could possibly create duplicate content.

For tag archives, I also suggest NOINDEX.

As long as you INDEX your categories, then you can kind of just follow your heart with the rest of them. Luckily, there really isn't a worst case scenario. If you're nervous, then just don't NOINDEX anything and see what happens. If you're happy with the SERPs then keep it as is.

I know it's awfully stressful to make sure you get this all correct at the start, but I promise this won't make or break your SEO. Feel free to experiment to see what works best for you.

[webestate]

Thanks Phil.  The blog post you reference only talks about Yoast seo pack.

Any thoughts on the All in One?  I'm looking for a good resource that will explain the best way to set it up.........specifically the index or noindex

[PracticeFusion]

This is definitely one of those things where you can talk to 10 different people and get 5 different opinions.

The best detailed resource that I've seen on this was written by Dan Shure. I highly recommend you check out his entire post on the subject: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/setup-wordpress-for-seo-success

He details step-by-step how he handles each, and gives the reasoning behind his choice.