Hello,

I just installed sh404sef on a Joomla 2.5 site with K2 2.6.6. I thought everything was under control, but then I started using tags to tie related content from different categories together. The on-site navigation seems to work when I click around, but Google is detecting 404s on pages like:

tag/tag-title/index.php/category/article

and several other permutations. The bad URLs are not in my sitemap, so I can't even figure out how Google is finding them. Because it is adding a new URL for every combination of page and tag, I suddenly have thousands of 404s.

Does anyone have any ideas for addressing this?

Thanks,
Nelson

try checking your menu structures, you may have items as the parent of other item without realizing it, making for some interesting urls

cause:

item1
---item2

---

item3

can make an url like /item1/item2/item3 even if the menu they are in isn't you main viewable frontend one

Eric,
Thanks for the suggestion.

All of my items have been carefully added to menus and the issue only started when I implemented tags.

It's possible that the tag pages are acting as their own menus. If that's the case, how do I stop it?

Also, since navigation works fine and the URLs aren't in my sitemap, so how is Google picking them up?

Thanks,
Nelson

Hello Nelson,

It's possible that the tag pages are acting as their own menus. If that's the case, how do I stop it?

If I am not mistaken with the components router (not K2 router) they are all rendered with a fixed URL structure (domain.com/tagname).

Also, since navigation works fine and the URLs aren't in my sitemap, so how is Google picking them up?

Btw dont you mean /tag-name/index.php/category/article ?
I don't remember sh404 adding any additional info.

Check your tag pages and tag items and also check your items for any links (maybe you where missing an http:// or a relative link causes this).

Krikor,

Thanks for the help. It's good to eliminate at least one possible cause.

I copied the structure directly out of Webmaster Tools, so I am certain that is what Google is seeing. I have lots and lots of links between pages within my items, so it's possible that some of them are bad, but I didn't see anything when I spot-checked them.

I don't have the resources (time/technical) to comb my links more thoroughly right now, I'm going to have to put a stop-gap in place. I'm not worried about getting my tag pages indexed, so I've updated my robots.txt to ignore the tag pages.

Not ideal, but at least it will minimize the 404s Google is recognizing and allow it to focus on rankings for my core content.

Thanks again!
Nelson

Goodmorning,
I have exactly the same thing but in my case the url are something like that:

www.fresconaturale.com/applicazioni/industria/ortofrutticola/itemlist/tag/azienda trasporti milanese.html
www.fresconaturale.com/applicazioni/industria/cantine/itemlist/tag/superbike.html
www.fresconaturale.com/applicazioni/industria/allevamenti/itemlist/tag/salone del mobile.html

and so on for about 500 404 in 2 days!!!
In my case the right tag that verify from sh404sef are:

www.fresconaturale.com/tag/azienda-trasporti-milanese.html
www.fresconaturale.com/tag/superbike.html
www.fresconaturale.com/tag/salone-del-mobile.html

If I navigate the website the correct url into the tag appear...so where Google take them out?
The only difference is that in my case my tree is something like this:

item1
---item2

---

item3

Not

Category
---SubCategory

---

item3

But I don0't think that could be a problem since the problem is only into tag.
Answering the last message of Krikor:

"Check your tag pages and tag items and also check your items for any links (maybe you where missing an http:// or a relative link causes this). "

I can say that I don't use tag inside my article so the tag appear only in the single page and, should appear in the homepage (but for another strange reason doesn't appear).

So how can I solve it? It's very important and urgent


Gianluca

Hello Gianluca,

Have you adressed this issue to the sh404 developers too?

Hello,
yes of course it was my first idea because I tought that the problem was not by the K2 component. Their answer was very very very bad.
You can find the thread here:

anything-digital.com/forum/extension/sh404sef/7477-k2-.sef-and-a-lot-of-404-pages.html?p=2

Basically they say that the component records all the url in 404 format and it is not their problem but mine. I solve the problem around the 404 iussue and I try to put also the "hidden menu" as suggested in your K2 V.2.6.5 released file and now (after change by hand more than 2000 404) I'm quite desperate because in two days more than 500 404 shows up again!

Plase help me to find a solution


Gianluca

Gianluca,

Using sh404sef and the hidden menu and advanced SEF methods are two distinct and different methods.

Indeed your URLs look like old Joomla! SEF I have to agree on this one.

I cannot figure the problem but I think I can help you.
Using sh404sef means you are bypassing the Joomla! router alltogether, therefore there is no need to use K2's hidden menus method. I think that particular menu structure and the sh404sef router might be causing these issues.

Try disabling these menus and stick with the sh404sef router (in order to keep all your URLs intact) or use only K2's advanced SEF features (thus using the standard Joomla! router).

jimie is correct on search engine caching, that might also be the issue. Try one the two methods, give it a couple of days and see if you still have new 404 errors.

Hope that helps.

Krikor Boghossian wrote: Gianluca,

Using sh404sef and the hidden menu and advanced SEF methods are two distinct and different methods.

Yes, now it's more clear also to me. I suppose that adding the hidding menu should not make the situation worst. Anyway I can easily delete it.

Krikor Boghossian wrote: Indeed your URLs look like old Joomla! SEF I have to agree on this one.

I think that too but I really don't figure out where they come out from...I mean in the site everything has the tag www.fresconaturale.com/tag/tagname as for settings

Krikor Boghossian wrote: I cannot figure the problem but I think I can help you.

Thanks so much.

Krikor Boghossian wrote: Using sh404sef means you are bypassing the Joomla! router alltogether, therefore there is no need to use K2's hidden menus method. I think that particular menu structure and the sh404sef router might be causing these issues.

Try disabling these menus and stick with the sh404sef router (in order to keep all your URLs intact) or use only K2's advanced SEF features (thus using the standard Joomla! router).

Sorry I really don't understand. I can easily delete the Hidden menu (no problem for that) but if I delete the menu structure (so item>>item>>item) all of my site blow up and the information for these two days gone...also use the K2's advanced feature...it means to tell sh404sef don't use the link only in the tag component of K2? How can I achieve it? And how to tell K2 to use the www.domain.com/tag/tagname.html rewrite condition?

Krikor Boghossian wrote: jimie is correct on search engine caching, that might also be the issue. Try one the two methods, give it a couple of days and see if you still have new 404 errors.

Hope that helps.

I know what jiimie says but, believe me, the eproblem is not that Google cached the 404 url but how (and where) these urls appears in first place.

Gianluca

but if I delete the menu structure (so item>>item>>item) all of my site blow up and the information for these two days gone...also use the K2's advanced feature...it means to tell sh404sef don't use the link only in the tag component of K2? How can I achieve it? And how to tell K2 to use the www.domain.com/tag/tagname.html rewrite condition?

You don't have to tell K2 anything, sh404sef does all the work. All the URLs will go through the sh404 router.

I think there might be an issue with your setup. There is no need to map your all your items in menus (item>>item>>item) except if you need them to act like static pages.

So my proposed solution would be:

• Map all you categories in menus
• DO NOT map any items unless you really need to
• Do not use the hidden menu technic with sh404sef
• Fill in the sh404SEF Integration fields that K2 has

Krikor Boghossian wrote: So my proposed solution would be:

• Map all you categories in menus
• DO NOT map any items unless you really need to
• Do not use the hidden menu technic with sh404sef
• Fill in the sh404SEF Integration fields that K2 has

First, thanks for the responde. unfortunatly I use them like static pages so I can delete the Hidden Menu (no problem at all) but I can't do the first item on the list so I can't "Map all yo categories in menus". So is there another solution in your opinion?

Yes,

Do not delete the entire hidden menu just the menu items towards all categories (the ones described in the K2 blog post).
I don't see why you can't map each category to a specific menu item (you can even assign some items to your hidden menu).

I think if you follow these steps your problem will be solved.