URL Issues

[Jnazareno]

Will Google and Yahoo cache (list) pages with the following elements ??
or will g and y penalize the pages ?

?, &, %, +, =, $, cgi-bin, .cgi


Thanks

[sarahk]

It likes ? & = although it prefers fewer than 3 parameters and if it gets a snif of a session id it's outa there

it indexes on cgi-bin: http://www.google.com/search?q=allinurl%3Acgi-bin
and cgi http://www.google.com/search?q=allinurl:cgi&start=10

I'm not sure about the % and the $

Sarah

[sarahk]

Google indexes more than people think. I know that the % sign gets indexed, because in the past, I've coded pages that accidentally had blank spaces in them, and that was interpreted as %20 , in the URL. Google cached it, and gave it rank as well.

I'm sure Google can index more than it commits to indexing, but is it wise or ethical to rely on that? I'd consider it a bonus - and if I've got a page I want indexed I want certainty

Sarah

[webmaster]

IT is always best to mod rewrite your URL's to eliminate all variables, although SE's can parse them, they do so with much more difficulty and the effeciency of getting your site spidered is much lower.

Theoretically can they parse all your pages? Yes
Will they: no