The Power of Search Engine Friendly URLs

I recently invested quite some time into generating search engine friendly URLs for several of my websites to increase my ranking and to have more pages indexed. I can highly recommend to look into this if your own website does not have se-friendly URLs. Especially Google (the most important search engine nowadays) can be very picky in regards to URLs that are not se-friendly.

Example (the 2 URLs below bring you to exactly the same page):

http://www.beefkabobs.com/ShowCategory.php?CategoryID=13 -> this URL is not se-friendly and search engines will eventually ignore any page behind it or rank it much lower in search results. Visitors will have difficulties to remember this URL. These kind of URLs often come from dynamic database driven websites. Each page is dynamically created when requested. Look at the forums URL this moment, too. It is dynamically created and not very friendly to search engines or the visitor. You get the idea.

http://www.beefkabobs.com/kabob-recipe-category-13.html -> this URL is se-friendly and search engines will spider the page behind it easily. It is keyword enriched to increase search engine ranking. Overall - this URL is easy to be spidered and easy to remember by a visitor.

For one of my own sites I was able to increase the number of pages indexed from 36 to over 150 pages - just by making the URLs search engine friendly. The additional pages were ignored by the search engines because they could not read the URLs properly. The domain used in my example went from 20 pages to 80 within 2 weeks and should go to over 120 pages indexed (by Google) with the next Google update.

How do you make your URLs search engine friendly?

Your web host/web server needs to support the Apache Web Server module "mod_rewrite". This module allows to rewrite URLs a certain way. By using a ".htaccess" file you can give the web server the necessary commands to work with se-friendly URLs.

How does this now really works?

In general - you are faking the nice clean looking URLs and fool search engines and visitors to believe that the URLs of your website are se-friendly.

SE-friendly URLs work in 2 steps. 1) Your site needs to display the se-friendly URLs. 2) mod_rewrite and htaccess 'translate' the se-friendly URL and redirect the traffic to the ugly looking se-unfriendly URL in the background (invisible to anyone). You will need to setup the htaccess file with the command how you would like the URL to look like and what does it translate to (a certain ugly looking dynamic URL).

The code that generates the URLs dynamically needs to be adjusted to match the rules from your .htaccess file. You upload the code changes and the htaccess and off you go.

Can every website be modified?

Most websites with dynamic URLs can be modified if the server environment meets the requirements. Each website needs to be looked at separately to get the best results.

The learning curve on creating se-friendly URLs can be quite challenging. Spend the time and resources on creating se-friendly URLs. The results can be overwhelming.

About The Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful small business owner (Net Services USA LLC) and international author.

The website used as an example can be found at http://www.beefkabobs.com. A second example can be found at http://www.vitaminsinstock.com

This article can be reprinted as long as the author information and resource box stays intact. All URLs/Links must be clickable and active.

---

Search Term Suggestion Tool

Overture.com offers a cool function to assist you on your... Read More

2 Powerful Ways To Capitalize on Your Search Engine Traffic

Many marketers know that search engine marketing is among one... Read More

DIY SEO - Part 2 Tags n Things

Part 2 Tips 4 tagsMeta tags are the descriptive tags... Read More

Companies Cash In on Your Search Engine Ignorance

This article will cause many companies to stir, but it's... Read More

7 Steps to Prepare You for The Local Search Bonanza

At One Time Local Searches were reserved for services like... Read More

Agressive Linking Strategies Help To Get Your Site Noticed

A good link building strategy has become an essential part... Read More

Beginners - Getting Listed In Search Engines

Once you have your web site complete and ready to... Read More

Straight Talk on Search Engine Optimization

To get your website listed well in the major search... Read More

Optimize Your Site Pt1

Listed here you will find the five of the most... Read More

Search Engine Optimization :: The Basics and Why Websites Need It

We all know that the most targeted traffic we can... Read More

Google Traffic Report Card-Does Your Website Pass? Part 1

This is part 1 of a 7 part series that... Read More

Have You Been Dropped By Yahoo?

Yahoo has fairly recently updated its guidelines. You can read... Read More

Google Patent Application ? Linking

The recent patent application filed by Google details numerous items... Read More

An Easy Way Not to Get Banned by Google

Strategic search engine optimization involves far more than keyword research,... Read More

SEO #1: Choosing THE Keywords to Optimize for

This is the first lesson out of 6 that teaches... Read More

Search Engine Optimization for Everyone

There are many facets to SEO and the search engines... Read More

Search Engine Optimization: Site Structure and Popularity

In the Global Internet era the industry presence is undoubtedly... Read More

Link Swapping - How to Win the Website Marketing Game in 3 Easy Steps

If you are a webmaster, chances are one of your... Read More

Search Engine Robots - How They Work, What They Do (Part I)

Automated search engine robots, sometimes called "spiders" or "crawlers", are... Read More

Answers Count - Matching Keyword and Phrase Density

What's more important to your business success - the question... Read More

Beyond Search Engines

Some webmasters report that search engines account for 75% or... Read More

Internet Marketing and SEO

Have you ever seen any email offers of getting you... Read More

Search Engine Indexing - 3 Strategies Guaranteed to Skyrocket Your Success

In order to design a website that performs well with... Read More

How To Soar In Your Search Engine Marketing, In The Post Google Era Part 2

'Are Google's Days in the Dominant Position in Search Technology... Read More

One Way Linking Campaigns II

There is a way to generate links with the content... Read More

Maximize Your Search Engine Traffic - 13 Ways to Pull in More Visitors From the Search Engines

Maximizing traffic from the search engines to your web site... Read More

Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

Lets face it. Search Engines rule the World Wide Web... Read More

The Myth of Search Engine Submission

Contrary to what most people think, it is not necessary... Read More

5 Simple Steps to Great Search Engine Rankings

Having your website rank well in the major search engines... Read More

History of World / Regional Search Engines and Directories

Computers have become a way of life for people around... Read More

10 Things to Expect from Your SEO Copywriter

From the perspective of a business owner, webmaster, or marketing... Read More

Tread Towards A Successful ?Internet Research?

Internet is a terrific resource containing billions of web pages... Read More

Site Maps: A Force To Be Reckoned With

Another important component of search engine optimization is the use... Read More