what is best ending for a link?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by mauiman, Jul 14, 2008.

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  1. #1
    Here are some examples... which is best, if any, and if you believe one is better please offer a brief explanation.

    example.com/take-this-for-example/
    example.com/take-this-for-example
    example.com/take-this-for-example.htm

    Does it make a bit of difference? Thanks!
     
    mauiman, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  2. eben

    eben Peon

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    #2
    First of all, Google prefer "dash" so the three options are ok with that.

    Then, it is prefered that your URL ends with a "/" because every URL normally has to end with a "/". If it's not there, a redirection is automatically made to the same URL, but ending with a slash. So why not go directly with the "/" at the end and save the redirection for the crawler or whatever is accessing your website.

    As for the .htm there's nothing wrong except that if a visitor forget the .htm, he'll get a 404 not found. Why not save your visitor the pain and go with option number 1: example.com/take-this-for-example/?

    there you go ;)
     
    eben, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  3. Brandon Sheley

    Brandon Sheley Illustrious Member

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    #3
    it doesn't matter, but I like
    example.com/take-this-for-example/

    it depends on how the rest of your site is setup.. if they are all setup with .html then I would make all links the same..
     
    Brandon Sheley, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  4. Lovely

    Lovely Well-Known Member

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    #4
    It depend on the way your set is setup and the script you are running on the site.
     
    Lovely, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  5. mtime88

    mtime88 Peon

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    #5
    I disagree with alot of that.

    Google shows no preference with the "-".
    Google shows no preference to "/"
     
    mtime88, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  6. TonyCap

    TonyCap Peon

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    #6
    Any of those are just fine, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
     
    TonyCap, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  7. eben

    eben Peon

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    #7
    Google shows no preference for the "/", that's true. But type any URL like www.google.com and a redirection is automatically made to www.google.com/. It doesn't matter SEO wise, but if the URL is going to end up in a redirection, I like to go directly with "/". It's just a matter of preference.

    As for the "dash", there are a lot of debates on that matter...
     
    eben, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  8. mauiman

    mauiman Well-Known Member

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    #8
    I have read that google doesn't care much either way, but i had set some sites of mine up with the .htm tail end and didn't like it and it's not very lay-person friendly either imo.

    So... I changed to...

    / at end and I'll always prefer a dash because it doesn't require a shift-key stroke and I believe it's FAR easier on our reader's eyes.

    Thank you all!
     
    mauiman, Jul 14, 2008 IP
  9. Paintball Guns

    Paintball Guns Active Member

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    #9
    I have an SEO friend who thinks that .htm or .html URLs are better because they seem more likely to be actual HTML files rather than PHP generated content (thus, more likely spam). However, I have never seen any evidence that Google has a preference towards a URL with .htm or .html.
     
    Paintball Guns, Jul 14, 2008 IP