Getting Indexed in the Search Engines with Session IDs & Cookies

There have always been issues with dynamic pages and getting them indexed in the search engines. Search engines these days do a much better job at indexing dynamic content, but there are still times that websites have problems in the search engines.

First of all, you should know that search engine spiders do not accept cookies. So if you have a site that forces a user or search engine spider to accept cookies and not provide any alternative way into the site, then there is going to be a problem. Next having session ids in the url could possibly have your site to not show in the search engines. We will look at a few options that are available for you. Chances are, you have seen sites/pages in the search engine results that have had session ids. The trick is knowing how to get around this for the search engines.

If you do have session ids on your site, one option could be, assign the session id via cookies and have it not required. Basically, try to do so without making them a requirement, this is generally where the problem tends to lie, making it a requirement to further proceed throughout your site.

If you want to see if your site can be indexed in the search engines, try using a text browser such as Lynx. This is basically what the search engine will see when it comes to index your site/pages. If you encounter any problems with this program with your site, then there is a very good chance that the search engines will encounter a problem as well.

Gerard Manning
Search Engine Placement Specialist
Search Engine Marketing Agency :: Manning Search Marketing