Gateway Page

What Is A Gateway Page?

A gateway page (also known as a doorway page) is a web page created to rank for specific search terms with minimal value for users.

These pages use basic SEO tactics to rank in Google but send visitors to other pages through redirects or links.

Here’s how it works:

The site owner creates a gateway page for a very low-competition, long-tail keyword. This is how they can rank it in the organic search results with such low-quality content.

When the user clicks through to the gateway page, they’re automatically redirected to another page on the site after a few seconds.

The redirected page is usually designed to sell a product or affiliate offer.

Sometimes, the gateway page doesn’t automatically redirect but has thin content and links to other pages with false promises.

But Gateway pages have one purpose…

Get clicks from search engines and redirect users to other pages on the site. When done at scale, spammers can generate thousands of clicks each month.

Here’s what makes a page a gateway page-

  • Thin content with little value for users
  • Keyword stuffing
  • Multiple similar pages targeting variations of keywords
  • Automatic redirects to other pages
  • Hidden text and links

Think of gateway pages like a fake storefront. They look good from the outside but have nothing useful inside.

The goal is simply to rank in the SERPs and get clicks from Google.

Let me be clear:

Gateway pages are a black hat SEO technique that Google considers pure spam. If they catch you intentionally creating gateway pages consistently, they can hit you with a manual action penalty.

manual action report google search console

It’s worth mentioning that Google is very good at identifying gateway pages.

The algorithm can often detect and remove them from the organic search results before they become a problem.

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Are Gateway Pages Bad For SEO?

Yes, gateway pages are bad for SEO and can get your website penalised by Google.

Google’s algorithm is designed to look for spammy pages like gateway pages.

Google’s human webspam team is also on the prowl looking for websites using these strategies.

The truth is that Google sees gateway pages as spam because they provide no value to users. This is the last thing they want in their search results.

Here’s why gateway pages hurt your SEO-

  • Google can detect and penalise gateway pages algorithmically
  • Users leave quickly when they find no value
  • High bounce rates signal poor quality to Google
  • They can create duplicate content issues
  • Gateway pages waste crawl budget

The bottom line is that gateway pages might work for a short time.

But Google will eventually catch on and either demote your ranking or completely remove your site from the SERPs.

It’s just not worth the risk!

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How To Find Gateway Pages On Your Site

Most website owners who use white hat SEO techniques and provide value to their users won’t have an issue with gateway pages.

But follow this process if you want to double-check for gateway pages on your website.

Start by looking at Google Search Console.

There are two things you want to check-

  • Pages that have low Click-through rates
  • Pages in the sitemap that aren’t indexed

google search console not indexed pages

This will give you a good base of pages that Google thinks are low-quality.

Next, check Google Analytics for pages with:

  • High bounce rates
  • Low time on page
  • Low engagement

google analytics low engagement pages

This will highlight pages that could be considered gateway pages.

At the very least, the content on these pages isn’t performing well and provides a poor user experience.

The last step is to run a content audit and ask these questions for each piece of content:

  • Does this page mainly act as an entry point without much value?
  • Is the page an orphaned page?
  • Do the pages replicate existing site content just to get more search traffic?
  • Is the primary objective of the page to provide value to the user?

Most people who create gateway pages do it on purpose, but if you’re worried, use the process above to check your site.

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