Dynamic URL question

[curtbro]

I posted this question on friday, but wasn't clear on my questions, so I am reposting it. I am doing some SEO for a website which is programmed in asp and creates dynamic pages on the fly. The entry page url is http://www.azur1.com/website/default.asp?AlertMsg=

The client was told by some SEO "experts" that the AlertMsg= after the ? would be a problem for the SE's. Is this correct? The client has asked the programmer to fix this, but the programmer refuses, saying this should not be a problem. Who's right?

[cspelts]

Ah, you posted the URL this time - good!

As I posted in your other thread, the dynamic URL should not be a problem - lots of sites use them and the search engines index them just fine.

But you do have a problem - there's a 302 temporary redirect on azur1.com. I would ask that it be changed to a permanent 301.

[AndrewX]

Less is more.

I was going to say to try mod rewrite to remove it, but that's an Apache function.

[mountainbuilder]

actually, some spiders have a hard time with the "?" symbol (among others) and cannot follow a link with that character in it. the big guys (yahoo, google, etc.) have taken steps in the last couple years to correct this by making their spiders smarter. however, there are still a significant number of SEs out there whose spiders will not follow the dynamic links.

there are also problems that dynamic pages can cause for a spider by trapping the spider in the dynamic page so that it's constantly in a "loop" state, never getting out, and for this reason spiders avoid the dynamic linking. i'm not sure what causes this, i've just heard it's a problem. this drains bandwidth and in the worst-case scenario can crash a server; it also terminates the spider's progression through a website.

one solution to the linking issue is to purchase software that will dynamically alter the link itself upon the link being called, so that the spider follows the link without a problem, thus allowing the spider to look at the page. in other words, you can install a program on the server that will call this link: http://www.englinsfinefootwear.com/et/fpix/product455623355.html and in reality it will be this link that it is actually generated for the spider: http://www.englinsfinefootwear.com/product.asp?3=455623355

i don't think this solves the "loop" problem, but that's where my knowledge on this subject gets a little dim.

the web designer who refuses to make this change has got a point...tho he/she might be more worried about the fact it's a pain in the booty to convert a site over to...especially in a large site, to alter all the links or provide for some sort of solution to this issue.

ideally, some day ALL spiders will have no problems with dynamic links. with the increase in dynamically-generated websites, the smaller SEs would be foolish not to meet this need. most likely they're already on their way towards doing so.

cheers,
brooks