SEO - Technology Decisions

Dynamic URLs

Although Google now states that dynamic URLs are not a problem for the company, this is not entirely true, nor is it the case for the other search engines. Make sure your CMS does not end up rendering your pages on URLs with many convoluted parameters in them.

Session IDs or user IDs in the URL

It used to be very common for your CMS to track individual users surfing your site by adding a tracking code to the end of the URL. Although this worked well for this purpose, it was not good for search engines, because they saw each URL as a different page rather than variants of the same page. Make sure your CMS does not ever serve up session IDs.

Superfluous flags in the URL

Related to the preceding two items is the notion of extra junk being present on the URL. This probably does not bother Google, but it may bother the other search engines, and it interferes with the user experience for your site.

Links or content based in JavaScript, Java, or Flash

Search engines often cannot see links and content implemented using these technologies. Make sure the plan is to expose your links and content in simple HTML text.

Content behind forms (including pull-down lists)

Making content accessible only after completing a form (such as a login) or making selections from improperly implemented pull-down lists is a great way to hide content from the search engines. So, do not use these techniques unless you want to hide your content!

Temporary (302) redirects

This is also a common problem in web server platforms or CMSs. The 302 redirect blocks a search engine from recognizing that you have intended to move content, and is very problematic for SEO. You need to make sure the default redirect your systems use is a 301, or understand how to configure it so that it becomes the default.

All of these are examples of basic technology choices that can adversely affect your chances for a successful SEO project. Do not be fooled into thinking that SEO issues are understood, let alone addressed, by all CMS vendors out there—unbelievably, many are still very far behind the SEO curve.

Also do not assume that all web developers understand the SEO implications of what they develop. Learning about SEO is not a requirement to get a software engineering degree or become a web developer (in fact, almost no known college courses address SEO). It is up to you, the SEO expert, to educate the other team members on this issue as early as possible in the process.