Does having a "require login" on every page reduce SEO?

[mantisinc]

Hello all,

I have set a required login in the application_top file, which means that every page, including all the information pages I have added, require logins.

Will this affect search engine optimisation? For example, if a bot trues to index a page, and it requires a login, will it be able to login, or will it just skip the page?

Thanks in advance!

[vasttech]

1. Yes, depending on how the login is configured it can affect your SEO.

 

2. Why in the world would you want login enabled on every page? If I was a user and every time I moved between pages I had to reenter my credentials I would not be a user for long. :) Login in once, start a session, and have the user login stored within the session. User logs out, session is killed. Just like the login works for osCommerce normally. There is also a contribution that will allow you to create a single login for the entire site.

 

3. Back to #1 above, once you start locking the store down like that you will have NO SEO being done. Search engines will ignore you since they think it is a private site that you don't want people seeing.

[mantisinc]

Thanks for your input Jeff.

Maybe I didn't word it properly ;) It is the login function that you use when you want to purchase something. So yes, once you are logged in, you stay logged in until you logout.

You can sample it at www.insectstore.com

What do you think?

Thanks again!

[Guest]

Even from a customers point of view that really SUCKS!!! I couldn't even view a product unless I created an account. Not likely to happen and I would not stay at the site.

[mantisinc]

Yea...okay.

Thanks for your input people!

[vasttech]

The answer would be no it will not affect SEO. As long as the page does not require a login to specifically enter that page. So your checkout_payment, the account pages, etc... shouldn't get indexed, but the other pages will. Otherwise, nobody's site would get indexed by the search engine :)...