Rewriting dynamic URL's as static

any long term implications on spidering

[Adam_C]

A large site I work with that is database-driven, but published as static HTML is considering moving to a dynamic platform.

They rely heavily on free search engine traffic and wouldn't want to make their site any more difficult to spider.

So, they would be also considering re-writing their dynamic URLs as static ones.

Does anyone have any experience of how this has effected the spidering of their site(s)?

Paricularly interested in comparrisons in spidering between sites using this method and plain old static sites.

Thanks.

[bakedjake]

Your biggest issues will be with the transfer, not the spidering of the new site, IMHO.

Done properly, a static-mapped dynamic site (rewritten using mod_rewrite or something similar) will not look any different to the search engines. Done perfectly, it won't look any different to the users.

A few tips:

1. Don't duplicate content! Be sure there is one and only one method to get to a unique page.
2. Consider putting 301s in place for ALL of your static pages to their new, dynamic counterpart. I've found that it speeds up the process, and it is good for any links or users that may have bookmarks.
3. Be creative, yet smart, about your URLs. If your parameters go something like this:

listing.asp?category=filters&product=smartfilter

Consider rewriting it to something like:

/filters/smartfilter.htm

With a little effort, the site will look completely static. :)

[maggi]

I made a static sitemap and in robots.txt
Deny: /cgi-bin/
so the spiders can not get the dynamic generated page.

I have not understood how to use 301 in header of the static pages?
>> 2. Consider putting 301s in place for ALL of your static pages to their new, dynamic counterpart.
>>I've found that it speeds up the process, and it is good for any links or users that may have bookmarks.
Thanks for hints, Maggi

[Ally_Cat]

301's are server side. If you do a search for "301 redirect" you'll come up with some great information. :)