Are mod_rewritten pages without a file extension frowned upon by SE's?

Does G, Y, or M have a preference?

[avi wilensky]

Hello WW,

Do search engines prefer a mod_rewritten file with a .extension, or does it make no difference? If the page is being chached properly, will a .extension make a difference regarding rankings on the SERPS?

Thanks to all.

[jdMorgan]

Search engines don't care. And if you are rewriting (as opposed to redirecting), then the search engines won't even be aware that there is a rewrite occuring; Redirects affect URLS, and are seen by search engines because search engines and browsers use URLs to locate resources. Rewrites affect only the file system path names that your server uses to retrieve resources, and server filepaths are neither used nor seen by search engines or browsers.

Using mod_rewrite breaks the oft-presumed relationship between URLs and filenames. In fact, there is none; There is no requirement that the file containing a resource share any naming elements with the URL used to request that resource (Which is why the HTTP and URL documentation calls things "resources" instead of "files"). Hopefully, this will clarify the point above, and not confuse it.

Jim

[avi wilensky]

Thank you!