How does multiple index page work?

...site uses www.domain.com/index.php?pg=page-name

[Storyman]

I'm trying to figure out how/what this site is doing to have a dozen different index.php pages. All the pages are: domain-name.com/index.php=page-name

I'm guessing that this is being done to gain some advantage in search engine results. Is this right?

What is the advantage and disadvantage?

[Steerpike]

You're looking at a dynamic site that uses PHP scripting and (likely) a database such as MySQL to retrieve information the user in searching for.

Essentially, what the index page does is:
1. Look for a value for 'page'
2. If no value, display the generic index/homepage
3. Otherwise, reach into the database and extract the content associated with 'page' and display it.

It's mostly used so that people can have a CMS (content management system) that allows them to change their content without making and uploading entire new pages.

It has little to no effect on search engines.

[Storyman]

Steerpike,

Thanks for the info.

[dreamcatcher]

Try Googling for 'Query Strings PHP'.

dc