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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.