NYCPHP Meetup

[inforequest]

Kenneth Downs ken-at-secdat.com |nyphp dev/internal group use| wrote:

> Let's say you use a friendly url (furl) system so that a url looks 
> like this:
>
> www.example.com/furl/parm/value/parm/value
>
> Because we are faking a nesting of folders and files here, will a 
> search bot expect to be able to find:
>
> www.example.com/furl/parm/index.html?
>
> and
>
> www.example.com/furl/parm/value/index.html?
>
I have not seen any mention of this by search engines (or their human 
representatives).

I don't think you are "faking" anything, though. It's a valid web 
resource, right? Who said it had to represent files and folders?

Lately it seems that they do some poking around when you do this:

www.example.com/furl/parm/value/parm/value

to try and determine the best way to grab that resource (slash or no 
slash) but the name is just "value".   Google has said it uses your own 
internal linking styles as clue for your site, and also how others link 
to you.

A quick check of Google shows this page ranking well:
http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller
with  this snippet:


    Model View *Controller* [Web Application Component Toolkit]
    <http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller>

Application *Controller* Controls the flow of logic of a single 
application. Because the popular MVC framework Java Struts from a *PHP* 
Perspective implements a *...*
www.*php*wact.org/pattern/model_view_*controller* - 40k - Cached 
<http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:AU1WIk8nh3MJ:www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller+php+controller&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us> 
- Similar pages 
</search?hl=en&q=related:www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller>


A hit to a trailing-slash-added version  gives a 200ok but emptyish 
template page, BUT it is in the Google index with this snippet:


    Model View Controller [Web Application Component Toolkit]
    <http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller>

You are here: Web Application Component Toolkit » pattern » Model View 
Controller. Table of Contents. Model View Controller. Model. Passive 
Model *...*
www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller - 40k - Cached 
<http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:AU1WIk8nh3MJ:www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller+http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller/&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us> 
- Similar pages 
</search?hl=en&q=related:www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller>


Notice that Google lists that trailing slash page with a URL that has no 
trailing slash. That looks like a double listing of the 
no-trailing-slash URL, with two snippets.

The contrived resource (with index.html) does the same (200ok but empty 
template page): 
http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller/index.php

A search of Google for that contrived page 
http://www.phpwact.org/pattern/model_view_controller/index.php shows "no 
such page".

So? Google says slash and no trailing slash are the same resource as no 
trailing slash, but represents the two as different content in the index 
(which they are). That suggests that Google is confused about that 
resource. A scan of the rest of that results set shows some URLs have 
trailing slashes, some do not : 
http://www.google.com/search?q=php+controller&hl=en&start=10&sa=N

What happens if I put a page on my site and 302 redirect to those pages? 
Will Google take their content and index it as belonging to my site? 
What if I put content at that empty template page, which is diferent 
content than the no-trailing-slash URL. Will Google still list both 
pages as going to the no-trailing-slash URL? If one page is on red 
widgets and the other on reen baboons, will it effect relevance ranking 
of either page?  That's for SEO homework.

-=john

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