.htaccess and search engines

.htaccess and search engines

In the root directory of your website, there’s a file named “.htaccess”, which begins with a dot(.).  If there isn’t a. .htaccess file, one can be created with any text editor, such as notepad.exe.  This file contains instructions to the server about how users and files should be handled.  Search engines make use of .htaccess also, as the preferred method of redirection and error handling.

Redirection is perhaps the most common use of the .htaccess file.  Using 301 redirection, web pages or entire sites can be moved without losing face with search engines or human visitors.  While the same thing cna be accomplished in web page meta tags, many search engines recognize this is a spamming technique, and will not follow HTML redirection.  Since 301 redirection is a server level error control command, it operates invisibly for most uses.  When the server is queried to deliver a page, it will check the .htaccess file for commands related to the url requested.  When it finds a match, such as a 301 redirect, it will mask the original url with the command given in .htaccess.  Human visitors never see anything wrong and aren’t annoyed by missing pages or having to click additional links to continue on to the page.

Another excellent use for .htaccess is for error handling. We’ve all been balked by error 404 at one time or another.  This is a “file not found” error, and can be easily remedied by creating a custom page, and then listing that as an error 404 redirection in the .htaccess file.  Even if the html file you create doesn’t solve the problem, it is still a web age that is displayed when the url is queried.  Search engines react badly to error codes, but are accepting of custom error page displays.

In short, using .htaccess makes a website more friendly to search engines.  By using server redirection to handle errors and forward users to changed filenames and locations, a website reduces dead-end results when links are followed.  Search engine spiders, which always expect to end up on a specific web page when following links, accept server redirection as a matter of course, and continue along as if nothing untoward had happened.  In addition to moved pages and 301 redirection, and missing pages (404), other server errors that can be handled in the same way include Bad request (400), Authorization required (401), and forbidden directory (403).  Even though some of these errors may never be encountered on your site, having handling parameters in place in .htaccess is still a good idea.

Article written by SEOnotepad.com