SEO URL naming tips

[mandy]

Eleven Guidelines to Successful URLs

  1. Describe Your Content
      An obvious URL is a great URL. If a user can look at the Address bar (or a pasted link) and make an accurate guess about the content of the page before ever reaching it, you've done your job. These URLs get pasted, shared, emailed, written down, and yes, even recognized by the engines.
  2. Keep it Short
      Remember always; brevity is a virtue. The shorter the URL, the easier to copy & paste, read over the phone, write on a business card, or use in a hundred other unorthodox fashions, all of which spell better usability & increased branding.
  3. Static is the Way & the Light
      Not to bring religion into this, but I can tell you with certainty that some of the engines absolutely DO treat static URLs differently than dynamic ones. And no human likes a URL where the big players are "?," "&," and "=."

full article: http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=1422

[BellisimaJ.]

Okay, great article Mandy,     but questions have arisen, techy help required.

For dynamicly created pages through a CMS, create the option of including keywords in the URL.

    Translation please. And, how do we accomplish this?


What is the diff between static and dynamic as applied to url's?

And for laughs:

Fewer Folders
A URL should contain no unnecessary folders (or words or characters for that matter), for the same reason that a man's pants should contain no unnecessary pleats. The extra fabric is useless and will reduce his liklihood of impressing potential mates.

Skip the pleats, guys.

[BellisimaJ.]

bumping

[BellisimaJ.]

Regic, 

Please look!

[xppman]

Go look at mine bell and you will see.

[xppman]

I've added many static pages and worked on more SEO all afternoon yesterday. Take a look at my site map too. I've added stuff that is search engine friendly so when they crawl they see happy urls. Also look at my catalog pages and notice you don't see the ? or junk you will get something like this: me.com/direct-mounts-c-12.html

Notice no "?'s"
Now on individual product pages you will get: me.com/product_info.php?cPath=12&products_id

This is not good but I think it can be over come by having good content on your main page and search engine friendly URLS where ever possible through out the site.

It seems to also help to have alt text in those pics too and using keyword that are relevent to your
products so the engines can find them easier.

[BellisimaJ.]

Thanks Xp! I'll look, but still have questions, I think.

[xppman]

I may be wrong but static and dynamic as applied to url's is this . I think....

static pages are like: bell.com/diamonring1.html

dynamic pages are like: bell.com/product_info.php?cPath=12&products_id=44


SEE no HTML in example two?
dynamic pages are pulled from a shopping cart program (I think) like oscmax.
It pulls information together on a main page template from various files /folders in your cart program.
For instance. Your background image that is to be displayed on every page may be pulled
from: bell.com/images/bellprettybg.jpg.

And you product pictures may be also pulled from your /images/ directory
but at the same time your text size table bg colors and how your fonts and colors of text look
will come from yet another file altogether. Your stylesheet.css file located in yet another directory.
(/templates/aabox/stylesheet.css) 

And your products would be pulled from :
bell.com/product_info.php?cPath=12&products_id=44

See?

Now another area to really look at is your meta tags
(although there has been some debate about the usefulness of them still on websites
I will continue to uses them).

That file in oscmax is located here:
includes/meta_tags.php

You can place your keywords in that file replacing the
generic ones assigned with the oscmax program.

So what more do you need to know? I may be able to help
you (or just confuse you more because I am confused too)....
Anyway just yank on my chain any time.

If I don't know the answer someone will but be careful..  :blinkie:
regic likes to throw you curve balls too. 
Just to make you think about it more. :wtf:

Great teaching technique regic. 

[xppman]

umm Bell I wrote all this... so take a look.
It took me like three hours just to write it so.  :

[cranky_hippie]

I gave you a Karma point, XPP. Does that help?  8)