URL rewrite, good idea?

[rob33]

From what I understand Google likes quality incoming links, but does not like exchanged links. Maybe I'm wrong on this but it seems by having URL rewrite on you are letting Google know you are exchanging links. Anyone have any insight on this?

[Boby]

I don't think Google knows that URL's are rewritten, it's done on the server and not client side.

Boby

[rob33]

Content visible to registered users only.

Right, I understand that, the purpose of having the URL's rewritten is so the search engines are able to spider them. But my point is if Google is able to spider them then they will know all your incoming links are exchanges rather than one way incoming links, which, from what I understand they will penalize you for. Any SE guru's care to comment about this?

[bobby9101]

i know a good deal about SEO, and mod_rewrite is DEFINEATELY the way to go. yes google does not count reciprocal links as highly as one way links, but recips do help!
if you really believe that recips are bad then just disable, but keep mod_rewite on :!:

[gearoid]

How about thinking of it this way;
Without url rewrite and with respect to static html pages, google may still assemble data on where urls are pointing to, and pointing from.

Or in the case of dynamic urls (other cms's or this one with url rewrite disabled), they could do the same.

But, will they be viewed as some sort of web rings or other aggrements? They probably are already, but what can be done or done to appear fair?

As a newbie to this particular communitity, I don't see any of you suffering to any degree, but rather that you're all doing well. Within other communities or forums even, they exchange links and are open about it.

It would appear that if your site has something to offer (as they do in so far as they may accept unknown websites (from an se's perspective), and will help in delivering and categorising them, then penalties are unlikely.
But if you didn't go beyond a finite ring, then some proof is inherent.

Rewrite on or off?
If the big G couldn't or wouldn't read your categories/site/pages, then that one search engine market that you are depriving yourself of?
Though it appears that they can read dynamic urls, but are reluctant to assign page rank. (You'll get the visitors, if no one else wants them, in a general sense).

Yet to see anyone anywhere, recommending that it be turned off, outside of troubleshooting and issues of the like.

[desimo]

I wouldn't expect that you would be "penalized" for simply having too many reciprocal links. If you were to be penalized at all, I'd suspect the culprit would be the dubious outgoing link, regardless of whether or not there was a recip. And, that is if you are penalized at all. I would think it's more likely that these links would simply be discredited... So IMO it probably won't hurt you anyway.