Multiple URL's going to same page - Kosher for Google?
- by Ashoka15
I hear conflicting answers from people about this, and I'm a developer by trade, and my SEO knowledge is not what it should be. Here's my situation:
I run a website that lists hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, etc for a small Asian beach town. Lots of establishments here are hotels with a restaurant and bar, as well as restaurants that are also bars. As en example, a Mexican restaurant that also functions as a full cocktail bar.
I first set it up so each establishment has one page, but can create multiple pages based on their other areas of business. This forces people to create TWO listings under the same name, and most just add the exact same information onto each page, making things redundant.
I am re-arranging the database so that a establishment has only ONE listing (one unique page referenced by the unique code '12345ABCDEF') that is accessible from browsing under "Restaurants" and "Bars", and has the URL structures:
site.com/dining/mexican/12345ABCDEF/business-name.html
site.com/bars/cocktail_bars/12345ABCDEF/business-name.html
I could easily simplify the URL to just the unique code and name:
site.com/12345ABCDEF/business-name.html
But, I found that Google has parsed by URL structure and lists like this on their SERP:
Home > Dining > Mexican
With each pointing to the default page for homepage, restaurants and Mexican restaurants. If I simplify the URL structure, will I lose these associations? Could Google also be picking up this structure from my breadcrumb trail at the top of the page?
What is the best way to set up URL's on these pages so I am not penalized by Google for having identical information on two URL's, while still being able to have places show up as they did with the old system?
