Should I add keywords to my URL structure?

[Turbosho]

Hi all,
I am wanting to get a few opinions. I have an ecomm site that has been up since 2001. We have always had this URL structure:
www.example.com/item.php=5555 (for items)
and www.example.com/item.php?category=2 (for categories)
With my software I can flick a switch and change it to:
www.example.com/-item/5555/keyword-keyword-keyword.html (for items)
and
www.example.com/-category/2/keyword.html (for categories).

I had never considered it before because if it ain't broke don't fix it right? Well our rankings normally average 1-5 for many keywords and phrases have gone to 1-20 on a lot of the terms. Of course there are lots of terms we don't rank on either but we had been 1-5 for years on our key items. The site is fully white hat at this time.
When I look down the results it seems like 95% of my competitors have the keywords in the URLS. Could I drop for changing my url's like that?
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[edited by: tedster at 7:01 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2008]
[edit reason] switch to example.com - it can never be owned [/edit]

[gosman]

Hi Turbosho.

I personally would change them. But make sure you implement 301's from the old url's to the new url's

[tedster]

There is a small boost from keywords in the url, but you really want to make sure you do it right. If you change every url on your domain, you can also do a lot of damage. There's a very good reference thread about sitewide url changes [webmasterworld.com] in the Hot Topics area [webmasterworld.com], which is always pinned to the top of this forum's index page.

I have major concern about this single switch you can flip - what happens if someone make a typo in the keyword section of the url? Does you server simply key in on the number and still resolve the misspelled url? In other words, does this url:

www.example.com/-item/5555/any-old-garbage-here.html

...still resolve? If that's the case, then you are wide open to duplicate url problems.

[Johan007]

Small boost is arguable. More like insignificant imo.