Query strings and SEO

Possibly a silly question, but I was pondering the effect on SEO of ‘pretty URL’ vs query string paths ( that is, actually using keywords in the query string e.g.:

domain.com/section/sub/docname.php vs domain.com/docname.php?sc=‘section’&sb=‘sub’)

would thy rank reasonably similar and , other than perhaps the order of keyword appearance, is there another reason for the difference?

If your page is dynamic, and built on the fly from parameters fed in from the URL then you should use a query string, because this helps Google to understand your site structure, and to spider and index it accordingly. Rewriting it so that it looks like directory format is a bad idea (especially if you include the parameter names within the URL). As long as the parameter values are given as words rather than arbitrary numbers/strings, this is perfectly SEO friendly.

If your pages are essentially static then it’s better to reflect that in the URL structure and to avoid query URLs. Having said that, as long as you use worded parameter values you shouldn’t find it has too much of an impact on your SEO.

If you have a dynamic system but with just a single parameter then it’s Ok to consider it as a static structure (as we do here).

At the end of the day, what Google wants is a URL structure it can understand, spider and index consistently and reliably. It isn’t interested in enforcing arbitrary rules.

Thats good to know. I was thinking from the point of view of WP’s 'pretty URL’s. I am developing my own proprietary CMS ( dynamic site) NOT based on WP, and was pondering a bast practice. It seemed , to me, that as long as the keywords were there ( as opposed to meaningless #) that it woulnt make too much difference whether they are in the main URL or the query string.
But I wanted to confirm :slight_smile: