Which does Google like better, HTML or PHP?

Does google like html or php pages better for indexing.

[webguy]

I've been trying to find a definitive answer to this question for hours now, and I'm not even sure if there is one. But for example, if you have the same two pages, one has an HTML extension, and the other a PHP extension, will Google like the HTML page better for ranking than the PHP page? Or is that not a factor in determining the ranking for the page (the extension such as .html or .php)? Lets say the pages are [mydomain.com...] and [mydomain.com...]

The reason I ask is because it seems like anything you do a search for, mostly pages with HTML extensions come up. I think that may be just because more people use that extension than anything else. But I thought I'd post here to see if anyone knew the answer to this question for sure. I am asking because if I find out that Google likes HTML pages better, that may have an influence on the file extensions the next site I build has.

Thanks!
webguy

[jatar_k]

will Google like the HTML page better for ranking than the PHP page?

No, not in my experience as long as there is no query string.

because more people use that extension than anything else

I would say that is probably right

[FillDeCube]

I have a few new website that were created using PHP and html.

My experience tell me fresh bot likes to visit .html files during first few visit. All .php files will only be crawl after 1 or 2 months.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[webguy]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'm currently using mod_rewrite to eliminate any query strings. I just started working with it the other day and I love it, works great for me.

[colemanator]

Can you clarify the "as long as you do not use query strings" a bit more. A URL example will be sufficient. I had some probs in the past with this issue and not sure if totally corrected.

[EliteWeb]

I run umMmm about x amount of sites either php or html/shtml.... all the same no differences. all picked up the same, all spidered the same, and freshness doesnt differ between the two ;)

[FillDeCube]

colemanator,
I experience this before..
abc.php?query1=xyz (indexed by googled)

abc.php?query1=xyz&page=2 (not indexed, not visited by google at all)

cheers

[Macguru]

colemanator,

Query strings are all the garbage showing up in url of some dynamic sites like :

www.domain.com/?epostz.cgi?action=reply&forum=3&discussion=8824.asp .

Search engines are improving but general consensus is to offer them URL without any special characters (Query strings) for better results.

[colemanator]

Thanks,
I had read here that you should not have more than 2 arguments in the query string to ensure bot friendliness.

widgets.asp?color=blue&sale=no

Any thoughts on this, or other work arounds?
I noticed that undefined arguments throw bots for a loop.

[webguy]

I currently use URL's on my site similar to category_33.php instead of category.php?id=33. And item_33.php instead of item.php?id=33. Since it's an e-commerce website, if I need to link to page 2, 3, 4 etc, on the pages which list the products, I simply use category_33-2.php category_33-3.php. The 33 is the category number, and the 2 (or 3) is which of product page of thumbnails to display. Since I only put out 12 per page.

category_33-2.php or any other URL similar does not actually exist on my server, rather I use mod_rewrite to redirect any request for a page starting with category_ to my real category page which is catalog.php. Then I just split up the variables and use the ID's to tell MySQL what to display. It's all database generated of course. I would recommend to anyone who is having trouble with search engines indexing their site because of query strings (mentioned above), to do some research on mod_rewrite to do something similar. Another option I had was to do this: category.php/33/2. The numbers mean the same thing, but they are separated by slashes instead. I like the category_33-2.php option better though. And it seems to work great for the search engines, however I just started doing this a few days ago, so I am still waiting on Google to crawl my new links.

[crumpeta]

I experimented with pages without an extension and I
havent had a problem with G picking them up/indexing them.

[colemanator]

Does the mod_rewrite require any special server setup, or have to run on a specific system (Apache etc.)?

[webguy]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's only an Apache module. It's just a matter of adding a couple lines to your .htaccess file. Then using PHP (or similar language) to do the rest. Go to Google and do a search for "mod_rewrite guide" or something to that effect. You can go straight to Apache's mod_rewrite guide, but there are others out there that are a little easier to understand for the beginner.

[colemanator]

Thanks, I will look into it further. This approach may end up working for me.

[webguy]

Another useful tip if you are using PHP for this, to find out if your server has the mod_rewrite module enabled, just create a new PHP file and echo php_info(), upload to your server, access the page, and search it for mod_rewrite. It was there on mine, if you see it then you know you have that option. Otherwise just contact your host if you are not sure.