Search engines run on all sorts of codes. They do their jobs marvelously.
So marvelously in fact that we get used to them working all by themselves. We forget that they need these codes to work properly. And sometimes they need us to tell them what to do or they can make mistakes.
Search Engines Can Figure Some Things Out
When a server opens a link written like this for example “http://cindyking.biz” it needs a fraction of a second to figure out what kind of location it contains.
The search engines will figure this out all by themselves. But there is actually something it needs that is missing in this example.
- Something very tiny and insignificant to us.
- But important to the search engines.
What is it?
This:
- “/”
If you remember to include a forward slash at the end of every directory you will eliminate this problem.
The forward slash ends the main website address or “root directory”. This tells the search engine: the request stops here.
What Happens When You Forget The Forward Slash?
Two internet marketers recently found out in an embarrassing way. They forgot to put the slash at the end of their “sitename.com” in their mass mailing software.
So what happened?
The software could not identify the end of their websites’ root directories when it processed the mass mailings.
Remember, this is the purpose of the forward slash. It indicates the end of the root directory being referenced. So…
The Result
Since the software did not know it was at the end of a root directory, it mailed over 10 nearly identical emails to everyone on the mailing lists:
- I have a new post, read it at: GreatDomain.com/article1.html
- I have a new post, read it at: GreatDomain.com/article2.html
- I have a new post, read it at: GreatDomain.com/article3.html
- ….
- I have a new post, read it at: GreatDomain.com/article12.html
The people on the mailing list receive regular updates from these two marketers. So they had already received all of the posts listed, except the last one which was sent out as
- “GreatDomain.com/article1.html”.
The readers’ inboxes were overloaded with old information they had already received.
Let’s not imagine the reactions the two marketers got from their list, in turn filling up their own inboxes.
What Should Have Happened
If these two internet marketers had ended their URL with the forward slash, as in
- “GreatDomain.com/”
The email software would not have had this problem. The emailing software would have known that it had reached the end of the URL and it would have searched no further.
The post should have read:
- I have a new post, read it at: GreatDomain.com/
The Exception
Having said this, there is one instance when you should not use the slash in a URL.
When is this?
- If the URL you are referencing is a file, there should not be a slash.
Here are two examples:
- “GreatDomain.com/article3.html” does not get the slash
- But “GreatDomain.com/ “ does get the slash
The Paradox
There is a paradox when writing the URL for your index page. The index page is usually your root domain… but not always
So, if you are writing a reference to your index page you could write:
- GreatDomain.com/index.html
- This does not end with a forward slash.
But if you are at the root domain you would simply write:
- GreatDomain.com/
- It needs to end with the forward slash
You do not need to specify your index page at the end of your root directory, unless you use more than one index page… and that is an entirely different subject!
Keep Communication Open
Remember to think about how you need to communicate with the search engines.
It will speed things up for your readers when they link to you.
And it might help you to avoid embarrassing errors as we learn from the mistakes of others.
This articles is part of the Design Your Website For Speed series.
Speed is an important consideration for international internet marketing. The other articles in this series are:
Design Your Website For Speed – Use The Height And Width Tags
Design Your Website For Speed – Reduce the HTTP Requests
Design Your Website For Speed – Optimize Your Cascading Style Sheets
