For Google, Add .0 To .EXE As File Extensions To Avoid
Jun 13, 2008 at 11:16am ET by Barry Schwartz
SEOmoz discovered that ending your URLs with a .0 will prevent your pages from being found in the Google index. That means we need to add the .0 to the list of file extensions you should avoid using.
Stephen Spencer’s News.com article said, “According to Matt, the file extension in your URL won’t affect your rankings.” However, “the one extension you should avoid for your Web documents? .exe.” So now we have two known file extensions you should not end with, the .0 and .EXE.
I wonder if there is a document somewhere of file extensions or URL parameters that one should seriously avoid for search engines. If not, it would make for a great chart.
Postscript: Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz emailed me to tell me to add .tgz as another extension Google won’t include in the index.
Postscript #2: Matt Cutts of Google addressed this issue. Let me quote his takeaways:
- Why Google doesn’t crawl some filetype extensions (when we’ve seen good evidence that the extensions are mostly binary or otherwise not-very-indexable files).
- An easy was to use the filetype: operator, so that you can decide whether to avoid a particular filename extension yourself.
- Google is willing to revisit old decisions and test them again, which is what we’re doing with the “.0″ filetype extension.
Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:
Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter
See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Google: SEO, SEO: Domain Names & URLs sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!
TOP STORIES
SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
RECENT COMMENTS
- Shari Thurow said " Hi all- Information architects, at least the most knowledgeable ones, understand the main finding be"
- nuttakorn said " I think 2010 is about Real-time and personalize search algorithms that Google will pay attention to "
- nuttakorn said " I just heard many sources that Google.cn will shut down tomorrow. You can see this source of news fr"
FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!
SearchCap is a once-per-day newsletter update:
STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.
SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »
Join us at an upcoming SMX event:
- SMX Munich – March 23-24, 2010
- SMX Toronto – April 8-9, 2010
- SMX Sydney – April 22-23, 2010
- SMX Advanced London – May 17-18, 2010
- SMX Advanced Seattle – June 8-9, 2010
- SMX East – October 4-6, 2010
- SMX Stockholm – October, 2010
Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include:
- Excel Tips & Tricks for PPC Success – March 18, 2010
- Paid Search and Big Brand Marketing – March 30, 2010
FOLLOW US SOCIALLY
- Wall Street Journal Recommended Reading
- Ad Age Power 150 Blog
- Technorati Top 100 Blog
- Techmeme Leaderboard Source
- Best Search Engine Community/Forum
Featured sites from our Blogroll
- Search Engines – Topix.net
- Refined Labs
- Brian White
- LiveSide – Windows Live news and interviews
- DomainTools Blog
Get Your Search Engine Land
Premium Membership!
Become a premium member today and receive:
- Express commenting privileges & photo.
- Exclusive videos & newsletters.
- Discounts to our SMX conferences.
- Access to "How To" & Other Archives.
© 2010 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Google, Yahoo & Microsoft logos trademark respective companies and used with permission.
