httpwebwitch - 2:08 pm on Sep 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

Rewriting is a powertool, and it's a really great skill to have, and an excellent technique to employ. But it's SO EASY to do it badly! I wrote an article recently explaining how trivial it is to create loose-ended rewriting patterns that in essence allow an infinity of non-canonical URLs to show the same content.

Bad rewriting isn't just an epidemic problem. It's the norm. My cynical guess is that 75 - 80% of sites (and platforms) employing URL rewriting (or its runty cousin, redirection) do it badly. It's like the entire internet was given a pair of scissors, and now everyone has a mullet.

I interpret Google's stance as being helpful advice, not misleading or obtuse. They are saying, metaphorically, "Please put down the chainsaw. We'd rather receive uncut wood than watch you sever a limb with a tool you're not using properly."

They're also clearly stating that they understand how querystrings are used, that variables in the querystring are often negligible state identifiers, not all are keys to unlock new content.

Google HappyRank Points will be awarded to those SEO's who understand the difference between parameters that should be rewritten to appear static-looking before the "?" and those that should be kept as querystring pairs after the "?".