Using XML to resource content from a "parent" site

[rd_john]

Scenario: We operate a web based booking engine that generates product content dynamically utilizing product ID numbers and types. This data is stored in a central database utilizing an ASP mark up. We too operate secondary branded websites that duplicate our booking engine under a new "skin" or brand for affiliated relationships. This content mirrors our current booking engine.We are trying to discover a situation whereas we could generate the product information through XML which would give credit to the parent site for the content rather than the search engines penalize us for duplicating product.Can anyone offer any input?

[boen_robot]

Sounds like a job for a "web service". You would create a search engine in ASP. A SOAP request from the child domain (created with a child's domain server side scripting file) is given to your central search engine. The search engine perfoms the searches and gives the results as a SOAP response to the child ASP file. The childs accepts the SOAP response, processes it and generates the desired output with the result from the response. The output itself could either be an XML file, or any other file that the child's server side scripting language could generate.

[rd_john]

Sounds like a job for a "web service". You would create a search engine in ASP. A SOAP request from the child domain (created with a child's domain server side scripting file) is given to your central search engine. The search engine perfoms the searches and gives the results as a SOAP response to the child ASP file. The childs accepts the SOAP response, processes it and generates the desired output with the result from the response. The output itself could either be an XML file, or any other file that the child's server side scripting language could generate.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Keep in mind I am a novice. It's not a matter of getting the content from one site to the other, it's the concept of "referencing" the content so as not to mirror the content. Ideally, the XML would reference the URL and file of the source of content being displayed.Still thinking web service?

[boen_robot]

Wouldn't a simple link to the original do the trick?

[rd_john]

We need the site visitor to view the content but not leave the child site to do so. This means no standard links or even RSS feeds as those as basically links out as well.Maybe I am barking up the wrong tree.

[boen_robot]

I'm thinking of (i)frame, but that's not a good way. In your situation however, it might be the solution you seek.

[rd_john]

Thought of iframe, but my concern is the burden of code would defeat the benefit of the search engine. We have some iframe functions on our site, but they are dependent upon javascript to display which kills the se benefit.

[boen_robot]

Now I'm totally confused. You don't want the search results to be displayed on the child domain, yet you want to have a search, a link doesn't work, because you don't want your visitors to leave (thought about a link in new window?) and iframe would disable the good of the search. I'm completely confused on what's actually the desired result.

[rd_john]

Sorry. Like I said. I might be barking up the wrong tree. I was hoping someone out there would have experience with a similar situation.Basically, we have a booking website, www.reservebranson.com, that has an intranet system whereas travel suppliers, hotels and ticketed attractions, load product descriptions. That information is housed and displayed through our parent site, reservebranson.comThen, we support other travel based websites with a private label solution. This gives these sites the same features and functions as the parent site but under their company's website brand. This system lives on a secondary URL, creating a stand alone site, seperate from the parent.Because of this, the travel supplier content is duplicated. This duplication or mirroring is looked down upon the search engines. So, we are looking for a solution to display that content through some sort of XML giving credit for the content to the parent site without having to leave the child site.Make any sense?

[boen_robot]

Going around the circle all over again .Web services are method of sharing only data among different domains. You could use web services to query all kinds of data from one of the sites and pass it to the others. The other sites would be able to create their own presentations while still receiving the same data. Infact, the only difference with my first example is the reveived data. Constructing such a system is not an easy process though. I'm not aware of whole process myself.

[rd_john]

Well, that's my quandry.I can use a webservice to present the data, but once in the browser there is no reference to where the data came from, making it duplicate, not resourced.

[boen_robot]

Well, without frames or actually compiling (thus duplicating) the content in some manner, I don't think that what you ask is possible. I think that what you are talking about is part of the Semantic Web initiative, which is not a very bright concept yet. It has a long way to go. I would still think about this thing though.By the way, what was the inital reason for not duplicating the data? SEO? I don't think Google or any other search engine bans anyone for that. It may ban for the excessive usage of keywords, hidden content and so on, but I don't think there would be penalties for duplicate one.

[rd_john]

Search engines won't ban due to duplicate content, however duplicate/mirrored content is clearly marked as a no no in both Yahoo and Google guidelines, thus impact your ranking.In addition, having the content referenced directly to the source, rather than presented it after pulling it, not only will we avoid penalty, we'll increase our parent site's popularity.

[boen_robot]

Search engines won't ban due to duplicate content, however duplicate/mirrored content is clearly marked as a no no in both Yahoo and Google guidelines, thus impact your ranking.In addition, having the content referenced directly to the source, rather than presented it after pulling it, not only will we avoid penalty, we'll increase our parent site's popularity.

Well, simply put a link that would open in a new window then. There's no other way.

[Kosher Kid]

I've been reading through this discussion and it seems to me that the web services suggestion completely solves your problem. If the child sites are getting their data through SOAP queries/responses, the data does not live on them; they only present it. It lives only on the parent, therefore, search engines would only see the data on the parent, or am I missing something?

[rd_john]

Correct, there are many solutions to "present" the data without having to physically store the data in more than one place, however once presented in the browser all references to how the data got there are removed and thus not viewable by the spiders/crawlers.Can anyone refer me to a site that uses SOAP to present off-site data?SOAP may be my answer, however I don't know where to look to see it in action.

[Kosher Kid]

Sorry that i cannot answer your question regarding SOAP in action as I am still learning much about SOAP myself; however, it may be possible to include something in your response to the child query which would provide information as the to soure of the data. Probably worth investigating.