I've read (under the impression) that to make a website "bot friendly" session ids should not be used. How would I allow a bot to pass without session ids*? Does a bot identify itself to the server? Is it worth it? *make duplicates of everything and exclude the session id pages from bots?
Yes, bots do present themselves to the server (such as googlebot for instance). The best way is to avoid using session IDs in the first place, but that's not always feasable. The best alternative is to block the session IDs from being sent to the search engines.
Dan, Thanks for some input. Have any idea how I would go about that? A link perhaps (if it's too much like work)? Thanks. Rob
Sorry, my expertise in Web development is on the front-end, not the back end (or the server itself). What setup are you using? If I know that, chances are I'll know someone I'd be able to ask for you.
We (I'm researching this for work) are using MIVA 4 & 5 (good for beginning / small companies - but a pain as you grow). The base server is running Apache. Is that enough info?
dynamic urls are not SEO-friendly, although Google has said they're trying to work with it. I blogged about it above. Otherwise, you could take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Web_pages and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_trap
Ok, talked with my webhosting tech support, and they said this is not really an issue, as it's only on secure pages (shopping cart, etc.). Also, we merchant optimize the pages.
What? It doesn't matter if it's secure http, it should still be seo-friendly. Matt Cutts (from Google) even stated that, given the choice, he's not confident that he would go with dynamic urls. I would be careful with what you take for advice from your webhost, as they want to sell you a product. Don't make the mistake of taking their word as gospel. It's your ecommerce and you are the one that has everything to lose. I've been trying to find the specific reference, but could not. I do know he mentioned it a few months ago. However, here's something you may find of interest. http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-glossary-url-definitions/
We now use Merchant Optimizer (a real pain), which makes all the pages served static except view shopping cart, check out pages, etc. (which can't be done statically). I try to always take everything with a grain of salt, regardless of the source. I'll research the session id thing outside of the dynamic pages just to be sure. Thanks for your advice / perspective.