Problems with PageRank using Apache Rewrites

Not passing PR to "Engine Friendly" URL's?

[kabbink]

Hey guys,

I am using what I thought to be a standard convention to create SE and user friendly URL's but it appears that Google isn't indexing the stuff or giving it a PR. I must have done something wrong!

Here is what I have in my .htaccess:

RewriteRule ^products/(.*)$ products.php?$1 [L]

This way I can link to example.com/products/BlueWidgets.html and my file products.php will be loaded and parses the URI in order to serve the right page.

I have done this before with AddHandler but this host doesnt support it. Should I just switch hosts or what?

Thanks!

[edited by: phranque at 1:56 am (utc) on Jan. 26, 2009]
[edit reason] exemplified url [/edit]

[phranque]

that's an internal rewrite, so the .html url is the one that should be indexed.
are any of your urls being indexed?

[kabbink]

Yes. All my URL's are being indexed and are PR3-4 except for the ones behind the rewrite...

[phranque]

i'm still not clear on your expectations.
do you want the .html url indexed or the .php url indexed?

what response are you getting when you request those urls?

[kabbink]

The HTML page should be indexed. The URL the SE sees is:

mydomain.com/products/Blue-Widget.html

I don't know what you mean by what response I am getting exactly but when I click the link everything looks normal.

Let me know what other questions you have.

[Shaddows]

You need to get an add-on such as Live HTTP Headers. Get that, follow the link and post the (exemplified) results.

[jdMorgan]

If you want to "hurry up" the search engines' passing the PR from your old "unfriendly" dynamic URLs to your new "friendly" static ones and avoid duplicate-content (having the same page at two or more URLs), then add this code:

# Externally redirect direct client requests for dynamic URLs to static equivalents
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]+\ /products\.php(\?([^\ ]*))?\ HTTP/ 
RewriteRule ^products\.php$ http://www.example.com/products/%2? [R=301,L] 

With this new rule in place, any client attempt to load the URL example.com/products.php?<anything> will result in a 301-Moved Permanently redirect to the URL example.com/products/<anything>. Then, when the client requests this new URL, your existing internal rewrite rule will pass the request to your script at the filepath /products.php?<anything>

If you already have other redirect rules, such as a rule that redirects any non-www domain requests over to your www domain, then put this new rule *above* that one; Generally, your rules should be organized with external redirects first, in order from most-specific (affecting the fewest URLs) to least-specific, followed by your internal rewrites, again in order from most-specific to least-specific.

Flush your browser cache completely before testing any new server-side code.

Jim

[edited by: jdMorgan at 5:55 pm (utc) on Jan. 27, 2009]

[phranque]

have your .php urls been previously indexed?