One controversial topic among Search Engine Optimization (SEO) enthusiasts is the static link versus dynamic link discussion. Each has their benefits and drawbacks. Some websites, such as Amazon.com, work very well with dynamic links. Other sites wouldn’t do well at all with a dynamic link structure and would fare much better with a static link structure. What’s the difference and who should use a static link structure and who should use a dynamic one?
Static and Dynamic Links: A Definition
A static link is basically a hardcoded link. For example,
http://www.site.com/page3.html is a static link.
A dynamic link on the other hand is a web page and a link generated by computer code. The page URL usually contains a string of code in and of itself. For example, a dynamic link might look like:
http://www.site.com/?pid=310837498/lem_dit=809342098?gm=398ab
The code is used by various parts of the software to identify specific products, users and pages. It is not designed to be readable, but is instead designed to be useful for software.
How Do Dynamic Links Affect SEO?
In the past, search engines couldn’t index dynamic links at all. Today, search engines are more than capable of identifying dynamic links and indexing them, though it does take the engines longer to index dynamic links than static links. According to Google’s SEO team, their system can read dynamic links by filtering out symbols such as = or ? Their team has also stated that webmasters should not try to make dynamic links look like static links. Instead, Google has a sophisticated enough system to be able to read and index dynamic links. Trying to disguise dynamic links as static pages will do more harm than good. It’s generally accepted that dynamic links are rated lower than static pages. How much lower is a hot topic of debate. The general consensus is that it’s rated lower and slower, but not by a wide margin.
Who Should Use Dynamic Links?
If you’re running a simple website without a large database of products, users or pages, then you should probably just use a static link structure. You will get ranked faster and better and it is also easier to manage. On the other hand, if you’re running a complex software structure that generates its own links and uses in-URL tracking, then you should probably use dynamic link structures. Don’t sacrifice usability and ease of use for link structure/SEO.
In short, the main benefit of using static link structures is that they are ranked higher in the search engines. On the other hand, dynamic link structures give programmers a lot of flexibility in how they design their links and user experience. If you have a website that can be built only with dynamic links, don’t let the SEO factor interfere with it. Don’t worry as Google can still read and index your links.
