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Which file ending is better?
Some webmasters wonder whether they should use .htm or .html
as the file extension for their web pages. Rumor has it that
some file extensions make it more difficult to get indexed
by search engines.
Which file extension should you use for your web pages?
From a search engine optimization point of view, it doesn't
matter which file extension you use for your web pages.
As long as the content of your web pages can be indexed
by search engines, search engines will try to index it.
What's the official Google statement?
Google has posted an official statement regarding this
matter:
"At Google, we are able to index most types of
pages and files with very few exceptions. File types we
are able to index include: pdf, asp, jsp, html, shtml, xml,
cfm, doc, xls, ppt, rtf, wks, lwp, wri, swf."
How can you make it easier for search engine spiders
to index your site?
Although the file extension is not important, there are
some things you can do to make it easier for search engine
spiders to index your web site.
1. Don't make search engines spiders have to think
Search engine spiders are very simply software programs
that follow links on web pages and that index the contents
of web pages. If the file extension doesn't make it clear
what type of web page the spider has to expect, it might
not index it properly.
If a text file starts with code that looks like PDF, a
search engine spider might try to convert it to HTML although
there is nothing to convert. Never make search engine spiders
have to think. They might get it wrong.
2. Don't use fancy HTML code
As mentioned above, search engine spiders are very simple
programs. If you hide the content of your web pages in fancy
flash elements or JavaScript code, chances are that search
engines cannot index it.
Search engine spiders cannot execute JavaScript code. If
the links to the other pages of your web site are hidden
in JavaScript menus, search engines won't find it. Dynamically
created pages can also cause problems.
3. Follow the standards
It really helps if you web site is compliant to the W3C
standards. Search engine spiders are built on these standards.
If your web site is compliant to these standards, search
engine spiders can index it without problems. We've published
an article
about this topic some time ago.
4. Tell search engines what your web site is all about
If you want to be found for special search terms on search
engines, you should make sure that your web pages are optimized
for these search terms.
Only web pages that are optimized for special search terms
can have good rankings for them. Optimized pages make it
much easier for search engine spiders to determine what
your web site is all about.
It doesn't matter which file extension you use for your web
pages. However, you should make it as easy as possible for
search engine spiders. The less a spider has to think when
indexing your web site, the more likely it is that your web
pages will be properly indexed.
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