glennn.php Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 i'm a php/mysql developer and NOT as SEO disciplined as i should be. i've developed a site for a client which is mainly driven by db data, and my urls largely consist of GET variables: index.php?pageid=42, etc... my client has done a LOT of SEO study for his site and now we're both concerned with what effect this is going to have on GOOGLE's (and others') indexing. i don't know who to ask or where to read on how to tackle this - if it needs tackling. as well, i'm curious as to how Search engines 'see' pages that are generated on the fly via database content. i can't believe that such pages are indexable, but as many websites are built in this fashion, i'm wondering how SEO is handled overall regarding site content AND URLs. i'm obliged if anyone can offer some pointers and/or a link to a good tutorial on the subjects. thanks GN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenway Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 Search engines can follow any links from any reachable page -- or via a robots.txt file -- so yes, these can get indexed even if they're dynamic. But it's easy to workaround -- just assign a unique "named" url to each page, and lookup by that instead of, or in addition to, uid, and then use these as your page links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 as well, i'm curious as to how Search engines 'see' pages that are generated on the fly via database content. They see pages as you see the HTML source or better how Firebug sees the source as Google knows if an element has display:none applied. i can't believe that such pages are indexable Most, if not all websites work this way. Google itself provides sufficient information for webmaster's search for GoogleWebmasterHelp channel on YouTube, in the Webmaster section you can also find some document providing some pointers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennn.php Posted June 7, 2010 Author Share Posted June 7, 2010 so then " ../index.php?pageid=42&page=Cable-Pouches " is a 'friendly url' as regards an SE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 But it's easy to workaround -- just assign a unique "named" url to each page, and lookup by that instead of, or in addition to, uid, and then use these as your page links. SEO prefers text, while database's prefer ID's. Combine the best of both worlds and make your url's look like: /42/how-SEO-can-boost-your-lead-generation/ Rewrite the url so that it returns 42 to your script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 so then " ../index.php?pageid=42&page=Cable-Pouches " is a 'friendly url' as regards an SE? Yes. Just be sure that each include's enough keywords. Like the URL mentioned by me would meet anyone that would search for: lead-generation boost lead-generation boost lead-generation seo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennn.php Posted June 7, 2010 Author Share Posted June 7, 2010 so then " ../index.php?pageid=42&page=Cable-Pouches " is a 'friendly url' as regards an SE? Yes. Just be sure that each include's enough keywords. Like the URL mentioned by me would meet anyone that would search for: lead-generation boost lead-generation boost lead-generation seo terrific - (although i'm not sure how i'd "$_GET" pageid from "/42/" ... ?? and as far as content, what confuses me is whether a particular page generated from DB content when a link is clicked and that data is queried actually 'exists' or not - if that makes any sense... how can an SE see it if the page hasn't been physically generated...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 how can an SE see it if the page hasn't been physically generated...? HTTP response code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnoTheDev Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 terrific - (although i'm not sure how i'd "$_GET" pageid from "/42/" ... ??1 By using mod-rewrite. Check out some beginners mod rewrite rules by doing a bit of googling. You should make your urls friendly and include keywords to help ranking. i.e If I have an article titled 'Ford Motor Cars' with id 42 then the url may be /article.php?id=42 However, making the url look like /article/ford-motor-cars/42 Is much tidier, makes more sense to google as the content of the page is described in the url, and also increases the chance of a click through by the end user as they can see what they searched for is in the url link. as well, i'm curious as to how Search engines 'see' pages that are generated on the fly via database content. Don't underestimate Google or other SE's. If you mash up a database with 4000 records of random bits of text to create a 4000+ page website where the content doesn't differ so much apart from a few strings here and there or a reworked template, Google is not stupid. It will penalise you. Do not try to put new websites containing thousands of pages together straight away. Google will know it is database driven and penalise you. Websites should grow over time. I would recommend the following book for some help on programming with SEO in mind. If you are creating dynamic websites then you should always have SEO on the brain. If you build a website where it is difficult to incorporate SEO concepts, you are onto a loser straight away. This is not an SEO book but more of a tool for incorporating SEO techniques into your PHP code, for friendly URLs, providing data feeds, etc http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Search-Engine-Optimization-PHP/dp/0470100923 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennn.php Posted June 7, 2010 Author Share Posted June 7, 2010 Don't underestimate Google or other SE's. If you mash up a database with 4000 records of random bits of text to create a 4000+ page website where the content doesn't differ so much apart from a few strings here and there or a reworked template, Google is not stupid. It will penalise you. Do not try to put new websites containing thousands of pages together straight away. Google will know it is database driven and penalise you. Websites should grow over time. I would recommend the following book for some help on programming with SEO in mind. If you are creating dynamic websites then you should always have SEO on the brain. If you build a website where it is difficult to incorporate SEO concepts, you are onto a loser straight away. This is not an SEO book but more of a tool for incorporating SEO techniques into your PHP code, for friendly URLs, providing data feeds, etc http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Search-Engine-Optimization-PHP/dp/0470100923 i guess where i'm being 'dense' is that the content for a page generated by ...?pageid=42&product_name=SKB actually IS visible ...? i appreciate the pointers. i was just reading about duplicate content, etc. is GOOGLE going to own the world, or do they already...? :-) thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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