aspx pages

[sujata]

I need to use aspx pages. What is the best way to make them search engine friendly? Should I use a html redirect? Are there any other solutions? Thanks.

[KeithO]

are you taking current html pages and redoing them as ASP pages? If so, set up 301 redirects from the html pages to the ASP pages. Otherwise, don't worry about it. ASP is all handled server side so the search engiens see the same output (hopefully) that the user's see.

[kgun]

Otherwise, don't worry about it. ASP is all handled server side so the search engiens see the same output (hopefully) that the user's see.

The mapping should be 1 - 1 for you and the search engine, but who knows?

1. Has it been tested on a large sample?
2. We used to think that there is 1 - 1 mapping between binary code and ASM statements, but there were, at least as far as I remember, some few exceptions on some CPU's.
3. Did you say dangling pointers in C++?
4. So we should wote for hopefully. Does the search engines do the same?

[lnewlin]

Make sure the aspx pages return valid HTML code by using a validation tool such as the free one at http://www.w3.org. Dynamic pages work fine with each engines as long as the returned code is valid.

[kgun]

What about your own tools?

Seems like an excellent site.

[sujata]

Thanks for your responses everyone.

My aspx pages are dynamic pulled from a database, so they have a ? in the url, I read somewhere that search engines don't like ?, so I thought I could create a sitemap with links to individual html pages that would redirect to aspx pages onload. Is that legal for SEO? are there any other options? Thanks again.

[sujata]

Thanks for your responses everyone.

My aspx pages are dynamic pulled from a database, so they have a ? in the url, I read somewhere that search engines don't like ?, so I thought I could create a sitemap with links to individual html pages that would redirect to aspx pages onload. Is that legal for SEO? are there any other options? Thanks again.

[KeithO]

The ? aspect is fine. They don't like when terms such as ID or SESSIONID come up.

[DMC_34]

I would offer this advice:

1. Disable page viewstate when unnecessary.
2. Do not include runat server forms when postbacks or binding are not necessary. If they are put the forms as low as possible on the page.
3. Stay away from .net webcontrols and opt for runat server html controls instead.
4. I know this goes against the grain but dont use labels. Especially labels with control formatting. The rendered code looks like crap with a slew of span tag etc. Use css and I prefer to use render blocks on pages I really want indexed well. For example The Christmas Gift Baskets page in my sig is actually a dynamic page using a datagrid but the code is pretty much clean for a .Net page. Every catalog page on my site may look static but they are not. From the products and marketing text the logo text it is all dynamic. Each page is named differently but inherits from the same class.

DMC

[IrvLatta]

I agree with MVP in that it is pretty easy to eliminate the querystring from your pages by using inheritence. We had originally designed our pages to each pass an ID in the querystring but then realized that this didn't go over very well with the search engines. We spent a day or two and set it up so that we have a separate page for each of the hundreds of properties listed on our site but we actually only have one set of code behind the scenes that generates all of these pages. Whether or not it will actually help to not have the querystring in the URL is anyone's guess - but it doesn't hurt to get rid of it.

GuestOfOwner.com

[kgun]

KW's : runat server forms

Look at the two first hits on the SERP's

http://www.w3schools.com/

I need to use aspx pages. What is the best way to make them search engine friendly? Should I use a html redirect? Are there any other solutions? Thanks.

Are you aware of that very good educational site?

It is a Norwegian site, but I do not know them or have any relation to them.

[greeneagle]

kgun,

You must realize, that in your references to SERPs, that this is an International Site, all of us are drawing off of different SE data centers. We all come up with different results.

If you could direct to specific references in your posts, it would benefit us all.

Thanks,
Ken

[kgun]

Yes :-)

[sujata]

kgun,
thanks, yes, I have been visiting the w3schools site for about a year now, but they dont have much info on SEO.

Keith and DMC thanks for the info.

I am thinking of having a sitemap with links pointing to a html page which will load the aspx page. Would that help or hurt?

[christudorprice]

Sujata,
In my experience, aspx will work fine with the search engines. Google and others used to not be keen on querystrings (but seem to index them now) but if you want to be really safe, you should code a single aspx page that accepts querystring parameters and then use RewritePath (search visual studio/.net help for rewritepath) in your Global.asax.vb Application_BeginRequest procedure. This will allow you to use a paramterized query page internally but it will look like a non-paramterised page to external users.

e.g. mysite.com/product/1234.aspx can be rewritten internally to mysite.com/product.aspx?ID=1234.

In effect, your users and search engines will see the mysite.com/product/1234.aspx url when in fact you are using parameters to serve the request - and noone is any the wiser.

If you have existing .html pages, you can programatically redirect the SEs to the new .aspx page(s) by simply programming a:

Response.Status = "301 Moved Permanently"
Response.AddHeader("Location", "mysite.com" & strNewPageURL)
Response.End()

in the Application_BeginRequest of global.asax.

Took me ages to figure out how to do all this - but the results have been great. And I'd say that having "flat" pages is probably better than parameters - don't forget that SE users can see them too and lots of ?s and &s can be a reason to click another link that looks simple and contains words that are relevant to them. Would you be more likely to click on
http://www.mysite.com/product.aspx?I...at=55&src=qeru
or
http://www.mysite.com/sony-rs11-vcr.aspx ?

Also, if you use the latter approach, you'll pick up valuable SE points for having search terms in the URL.

Good luck.