URL Structure

Red devil · 07-26-2007, 04:58 AM

1) which is better?
www.domain.com/my_file/my-name
or
www.domain.com/my-file/my-name

2)In our site we have to use a unique ID, like date, to keep track of the date when the article was published
eg: www.domain.com/factbook/26072007-natural-paste

is there an alternate solution for not using the date since it is not a keyword i want to optimize, my keyword is natural paste, or should i use:
www.domain.com/factbook/natural-paste-26072007

thanks.

Mihai · 07-26-2007, 06:44 AM

1) Either way is good. Makes no real difference. Easier to follow is the 2nd choice, I would go for that.

2) I would go for something like :

http://www.domain.com/factbook/2007/...ural-paste.htm

Red devil · 07-26-2007, 07:06 AM

thanks mate...
regarding pt. 2, if sumbdy searches for Natural Paste in the SE's would the date (2607007) prove to be a hinderance to the search results?

Mihai · 07-26-2007, 08:33 AM

No, not at all. There will be no problem as long as that page has been optimized for your keywords, the content has a density of keywords which suits the total number of words on the page and other factors which are normal to any optimization for both search engine spiders and readers.

Red devil · 07-26-2007, 10:14 PM

cool, thanks

**Cricket** · 07-26-2007, 10:28 PM

This may help you with your decision.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/dashes-vs-underscores/

Red devil · 07-27-2007, 12:00 AM

that was a gud 1...interesting,,,thanks for the help...i guess i hav pretty much figured out wat to do nw..

Red devil · 07-27-2007, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cricket

This may help you with your decision.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/dashes-vs-underscores/

An updated version:

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9748779-7.html

Mihai · 07-27-2007, 04:29 AM

Yes, that is a very good resource. I just wanted to point it out too before you did. That hits the spot for this thread!

John Scott · 07-27-2007, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mihai

1) Either way is good. Makes no real difference. Easier to follow is the 2nd choice, I would go for that.

2) I would go for something like :

http://www.domain.com/factbook/2007/...ural-paste.htm

Not true.

Always use hyphens, not underscores. Google doesn't parse keywords when they are separated by underscores.

John Scott · 07-27-2007, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red devil

An updated version:

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9748779-7.html

Don't believe everything you read. It ain't true.

See for yourself.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...7n&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...7n&btnG=Search

Red devil · 07-27-2007, 07:43 AM

fair enough...but in the article it is also mentioned that in future....
so lets wait and see if it happens...

Mihai · 07-27-2007, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Scott

Not true.

Always use hyphens, not underscores. Google doesn't parse keywords when they are separated by underscores.

Thank you for correcting me. I must admit I was a bit tired when answering this question, I must admit my mistake.

John Scott · 07-27-2007, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red devil

fair enough...but in the article it is also mentioned that in future....
so lets wait and see if it happens...

Always a good idea

zagu060807 · 07-27-2007, 01:01 PM

I'd rather choose number 1, easier to type and dashes are considered as a space

Red devil · 07-27-2007, 11:43 PM

well the good thing abt point number 2 is that my-file will also be considered or taken as a keyword by google...

mauiman · 07-28-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cricket

This may help you with your decision.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/dashes-vs-underscores/

I wonder how many hits that link above gets from these forums.... Think I could get a link on that page?
---
I asked the same question a couple weeks back and i've read hundreds of posts here and elsewhere and I've decided to continue using hyphens instead of underscores going forward. I don't think it's a big deal, but it may be a factor and I think it looks better.

And if a pic is worth a thousand words check out the URL of Matt's blog.

As for the date the second would be my choice and if you can make the date easy to interpret to the human eye that would be a plus. It'll be less of a distraction and our brains don't like to get stopped by something they don't recognize especially when in a hurry and we ALL are.

**Cricket** · 07-28-2007, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mauiman

As for the date the second would be my choice and if you can make the date easy to interpret to the human eye that would be a plus. It'll be less of a distraction and our brains don't like to get stopped by something they don't recognize especially when in a hurry and we ALL are.

I don't use the date at all for the url of my posts.