Should I use a Page Name variable after the ? for a dynamic web page

[NCBob]

I'm converting for static to dynamic web pages.  It appears that the page name is used for page ranking in the search engines. Will adding a Page Name variable help to increase our SEO. For example aspecialgift.com/subcat.php?PageName=GiftPage&ProductID=ABCDE.  Does the page name variable make a difference?

[Hurf]

I would avoid displaying the dynamic URL and re-write to create Search Engine Friendly URLs - so www.aspecialgift.com/subcat.php?PageName=GiftPage&ProductID=ABCDE becomes www.aspecialgift.com/category-name/product-name-1.html or similar

You want the URL to the product to remain constant too. Dynamic URLS usually appear when you use search and sort functions on your site and these results will be considered duplicates anyway - so you are best to exclude them from the index.

Depending on your ecommerce solution there is likely to be a SEF URL solution for it.

Dynamic URLS are also not very Human Readable either - another good reason to avoid them (have you tried reading one over the phone???

A readable URL also helps customers  as it is an additional signal to customers that this page relates to the product they are looking for.

[blu42media]

Big Bazza is spot on here...

What system are you using?  We might be able to point out a plug to get those friendly URLs that you're looking for

[NCBob]

Not sure what you mean by "what system are you using".  Windows server, asp classic product pages.

[NCBob]

Big Bazza,

Thank you for your response. I'm not really asking if static pages are preferred over dynamic pages.  I agree they are.  We've already made the decision to move away from static pages to dynamic pages because static pages just become unmanageable when you get hundreds or thousand of them.  I was just wondering if the product name variable helps and it would at least help the human element even if Spiders disregard it.

[Hurf]

I would certainly incorporate as many human readable elements as possible in the URL - these can only help improve the SEO for each product page.

With regard to your concerns about keeping your URLs manageable - Could you not incorporate a unique element into the URL (such as the ISBN number or SKU reference) alongside a well structured keyword rich element - as you find on Amazon or Play.com for example:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-SEO-Mastering-Optimization-Practice/dp/0596518862

or

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/90536/Four-Weddings-And-A-Funeral/Product.html

Using a unique identifier would prevent duplicate URL issues and in some cases - books for example - it could actually help your rankings - If the unique reference was one that could also be searched for by potential buyers - The ISBN 10 number is incorporated in the Amazon URL example above - and regular readers who want a very specific edition of a product are likely to search using this in their search query.

I would leave you with one suggestion - carry out any number of random product searches both within your niche and out of it - and note how many of the highest ranking URLs have a structure similar to the one you are currently considering versus structured, human readable URLs.