Mod Rewrite and Ranking in Search Engines

[MatthewBOnline]

Hi,

If you go to Google and search for “garmin nuvi 465t” on the first page of search results you will find:

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---noh”

which is a Mod Rewrite.

Note: if you type in the below URL’s they all work. ie. the last subfolder is not relevant and variations work.

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---noh”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-4”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nu”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/g”

I am planning to do a Mod Rewrite which is simpler. In the case of this web site I would just use:

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/garmin-nuvi-465t”

My question is: Is there a good reason why this site uses 3 sub folders in the URL? ie. product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t—noh

Would my simpler Mod rewrite rank better, or at least as good as this web site? Or is it best to include the wording “product.php” in the URL? Is there a good explanation why the last subfolder in their site is not relevant? Does Google like this ending within URLs?

Thanks,

Matt.

[dklynn]

MBO,

@MatthewBOnline

Hi,

If you go to Google and search for “garmin nuvi 465t” on the first page of search results you will find:

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---noh”

which is a Mod Rewrite.

Actually, that is NOT mod_rewrite - that is a URL.

Note: if you type in the below URL’s they all work. ie. the last subfolder is not relevant and variations work.

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---noh”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t---”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-4”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/garmin-nu”
“http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/4729/g”

With those tests, it’s likely that the site you’re investigating IS using mod_rewrite to redirect requests although, more likely, it’s the product.php script which is parsing the URI to assemble a query for its database. I say this because the UGLY (IMHO) Options MultiViews (putting a filename - with or without extension - in a directory location in a URI) is often very problematic for mod_rewrite users.

I am planning to do a Mod Rewrite which is simpler. In the case of this web site I would just use:

“http://www.handtec.co.uk/garmin-nuvi-465t”

My question is: Is there a good reason why this site uses 3 sub folders in the URL? ie. product.php/4729/garmin-nuvi-465t—noh

As above - product.php is the file handler which parses the URI and, apparently, uses only the first subdirectory (after product.php) to search its database, i.e., product_id = 4729 and the rest is irrevelant.

Would my simpler Mod rewrite rank better, or at least as good as this web site? Or is it best to include the wording “product.php” in the URL? Is there a good explanation why the last subfolder in their site is not relevant? Does Google like this ending within URLs?

CONTENT IS KING! Concentrate on the CONTENT of your website and SEs will rank it higher - if all else is identical. Your competition has longevity, a history of linking and, likely, affiliate links. It all plays into the mix for PR. As for using mod_rewrite, the use of the product name (as generally known), SHOULD help with your PR but it will only play a very small part.

Thanks,

Matt.

Regards,

DK