Question Mark In URL??
-
So I am looking at a site for a client, and I think I already have my answer, but wanted to check with you guys.
First off the site is in FLASH and HTML. I told the client to dump the flash site, but she isn't willing right now.
So the URLS are generated like this.
Flash:
http://www.mysite.com/#/page/7ca2/wedding-pricing/
HTML:
http://www.mysite.com/?/page/7ca2/wedding-pricing/
checking the site in Google with a site:mysite, none of the interior pages are indexed at all.
So that is telling me that Google is pretty much ignoring everything past the # or ?.
Is that correct?
My recommendation is to dump the flash site and redo the URLS in a SEo friendly format.
-
I think you would have to turn flash off to see it on a desktop.
But yes, my recommendation is the dump the flash version, keep the HTML version and restructure the URLS. Only then does it make sense to start SEO. (thought you could argue that is SEO)
-
Well maybe a mobile version. But from the desktop I can't seem to get to it. Anyway if the site can be recreated in HTML with the same look and functionality, why does she want the Flash site? Mention the speed factor to her as well... Site takes far too long to load.
-
I thought it was a full flash site also until I pulled it up on my IPAD. There is a full html version there.
-
Jesse's right. AS much as your client doens't want to upgrade and rework the entire site (build an equivalent in HTML or PHP), there isn't much you can do. This is a full FLASH site, locked SWF and Google isn't going to crawl or index any of the content or information.
You could do a few other things to help the business on a local level:
1. Build up all the social profiles and media needed to support Google local search. Social media, Google+, FB and Twitter sould be a good start. Even a LinkedIn profile to support the company and business.
2. Add in a WORDPRESS customization feature to the site, and build up a blog for content marketing and development. Work to create content around each of these categories and redirect users back to the company site. You don't have specific landing page URL's to use and optimize, but it's a cost effective start if they are unwilling to bend on going the route that will benefit them the most.
I've had clients like this and it's the hardest thing to tell them everything they have or are doing is wrong on many levels. It's probably the most sensitive area when dealing with a client you don't want to upset Tough road ahead for sure.
Cheers!
-
You know I may have been partially wrong.. Some of the pages are being indexed and text as well. It's certainly not doing any favors though and the navigation is rough to begin with. I can barely see the pages in the nav bar.. Maybe tell your client that and it could help.
But looking at this shows me that not only does the question mark not matter (to answer your original question) but there is a bit of crawling going on:
-
Well the HTML site is redirecting to the flash site as far as I can tell. And the URLs are all goofed up and silly. Oof. You got your work cut out for you here, especially if the client is unwilling to change as you're describing.
Anyway because there is nothing but a Flash site here, Google is not crawling it and it's not being indexed from what I can tell. I grabbed a couple strings of text and ran a search for them and the site didn't show up. The homepage is indexed, but it will never appear in the desired SERPs as you already well know...
Your client would really hate me because I'd be trying to convince them to change their entire company name. I realize this is a localized business but there are 3 different "sweetlightstudio.com" websites that all look the same to me. Now I know there are cities at the end of each one but I guarantee you a large portion of potential customers get confused and end up on the wrong site and then say "wait I don't live in San Francisco what the heck is this" and leave.
Well good luck with this one! Ha!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Redesign Just Starting - Should I Leave The Previous Incomplete Site or Setup A Temporary Holding Page and Redirect Previous URL'S?
Hi All I've picked up a new website project and wanted to ask about the best way to proceed with the current site during the development process. The current site is incomplete although it has been live for a while and has over 80 pages in the sitemap. Link to site https://tinyurl.com/ychwftup The business owner wants to take down the current site and simply add a landing page stating "new website coming soon". From an SEO perspective, am I better to keep the current site live until the new site is ready? Or would it not make any difference if I setup the landing page and add 301 redirects from each page in the sitemap to the landing page. Many Thanks In Advance For Any Assistance
Web Design | | ruislip180 -
SSL, SEO, and Site Migration question
When migrating a site to a new url and one where the old url had no https and the new url will be full https does it matter if the 301 redirect points at http://thisisthenewsite.com ? Meaning, should the new site have the ssl / https up prior to redirecting the old site? Does it matter if you redirect the old site to http://thisisthenewsite.com or https://thisisthenewsite.com? Since the site will force to https anyway?
Web Design | | Atlanta-SMO0 -
What structured data would you recommend marking up for a companies 'service'?
Hi, I'm finally starting to use structured data in my clients sites now that Google has embraced it so much. I have a client that is a cosmetic physician and has associated services. I thought it would be beneficial to markup each service according to http://schema.org/Service I'll be doing a similar thing with a new local surveyors website too. I'm just wondering if it is worth doing and what Schema properties would you recommend using. For the cosmetic physician I'm thinking of: description
Web Design | | morktron
name
url
sameAs
provider
serviceArea
serviceType0 -
How to find internal pages linking to a URL?
Hey, I had an issue where a client found a bad link on their site then I went to fix it and couldn't figure out where on earth it was. I tried using different software which would find the link, but not tell me where it was linked from. I asked for some help from someone in my office and they found it in about 15 seconds. Their strategy was "think like a client - just click everywhere". Is there a way to quickly find what URLs are pointing to a specific URL? Cheers
Web Design | | renegadeempire0 -
Magento URL Structure
I'm about to migrate to Magento and wanted to ask about the optimal URL structure for the following page: Knowledge Centre |-Videos |-Customer Testimonials |-Customer X Would it be better to use: Domain/knowledge-centre/videos/customer-testimonials/customer-x or Domain/customer-x Thanks in advance for any replies.
Web Design | | ssoneil0 -
Question #2: All of my INTERNAL links in OSE are being indexed from http://www.e.com/default.asp, and all my EXTERNAL links are linked to http://www.e.com/ am I getting a fraction of the link juice because of that?????
Hey guys, sorry for the really long question, but it appears that I am losing between 50 and 75 % of my link juice to my internal pages. In OSE all main category links (left sidebar) are being indexed from the URL that includes default.asp, even though NONE of my external links include that: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uncommonthread.com%2FSulky-Thread-s%2F78.htm If you check the PA for http://www.uncommonthread.com/: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uncommonthread.com%2F You see that it is practically double the PA of http://www.uncommonthread.com/default.asp: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uncommonthread.com%2FDefault.asp **Also, non of my internal menu links are being indexed. ** Look at the menu on this page: http://www.uncommonthread.com/Sulky-Thread-s/78.htm and then look at the OSE information here for the "invisible thread" item from the menu on the page above^^^: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uncommonthread.com%2FSulky-monofilament-s%2F54.htm Thanks SOOO much! Pre-thumbs and thanks to anyone that can lend me a seconds worth of advice! Thanks again for your time, Tyler A.
Web Design | | TylerAbernethy0 -
Word Press Seo Errors/ Questions
Hi my name is Tina I am new here I hope you guys can help me out. I thought building my new site with Word Press was going to simplify things, however I have a ton of errors, and I am not sure what they are, or how to fix them. I am hoping someone could share with me a solution for these errors. I have 28 rel=canonical errors, I am not sure what this means, I understand it to mean my pages are similar, and this is to set a heirarchy between my pages. Please correct me if I am wrong. If I am correct would this be necessary to add if my main keyword was "widgets" and my home page was optimized for "widgets" and my next page was "blue widgets" and so on. While my pages are similar they are all optimized for different versions of my main keyword some using long tail keywords. Do you know of a plugin that can help solve this problem? Also does anyone have a plugin they recommend for G+ my G+ authorship verification is causing an error as well? I am using Head Space 2 I have used this seo plugin numerous times with great success it has been my favorite seo plugin. However, we have a portfolio that shows our clients websites, and on those pages Head Space will not let me enter a description tag. What plug in do you guys recommend with more control over each page? Another interesting issue is on one of our pages I optimized it for our Canadian clients, and now every page has been listed in Google.ca for the keywords it should have on Google.com. We are listed on Google maps, verified in Google places, and our address is on the site so they know we're from the USA however, the majority of our keywords are only listed in Google.ca. We're on page one for all of them, we are in the top three on most of them so that's not bad, but we want to be listed in Google.com as well. Any suggestions on this?
Web Design | | TinaGammon1