I installed Google SEO on my MyBB Forum. Works fine with the easier links with real names instead of Thread ID's. However, some modifications require the use of Thread ID's which I now don't know how to see anymore, since SEO changed all my topics to text-links instead.
How can I find out the original Thread ID ?
Thanks in advance.
Wolfseye
Ok, seems the only way is to disable the SEO friendly-links to see the Thread ID again.
Hi Wolfseye,
Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I think its possible to find out the thread ID (via the reply thread button) -
But what I'm interested in is keeping the actual thread ID in the URL after installing the Google SEO plugin. I realise several others have asked the same, however there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer/workaround.
Anyone?
(2013-01-14, 11:27 AM)c_man Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Wolfseye,
Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I think its possible to find out the thread ID (via the reply thread button) -
But what I'm interested in is keeping the actual thread ID in the URL after installing the Google SEO plugin. I realise several others have asked the same, however there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer/workaround.
Anyone?
Why would you want to do that, it's not good for SEO and sort of defies the point of using the SEO plug in ?
Thanks for the prompt reply Spangle...
(2013-01-14, 12:06 PM)Spangle Wrote: [ -> ]Why would you want to do that, it's not good for SEO and sort of defies the point of using the SEO plug in ?
I understand it may defy the point of the SEO (to some degree). However
1] Will it not help avoid URL clashes if thread topics are the same?
2] It helps avoid long URLs (for purposes of linking from other places, I suppose)
3] I was thinking of taking the approach that this forum itself takes: I read on a seperate thread there is the concept of 'internal Google SEO' optimisation whereby the SEO plugin is active and effective, yet thread URLs are preserved. For instance, this thread is:
http://community.mybb.com/thread-122593.html
My understanding may be way off - so feel free to correct me!
4] If the simple answer is: "if you have the SEO plugin installed and active, then its not possible to have thread IDs in the URL" then I accept that. I have just seen mixed messages, indicating it is and isn't possible, thats all.
Would appreciate your thoughts on the 4 points above
Thanks in advance
(2013-01-14, 12:15 PM)c_man Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for the prompt reply Spangle...
(2013-01-14, 12:06 PM)Spangle Wrote: [ -> ]Why would you want to do that, it's not good for SEO and sort of defies the point of using the SEO plug in ?
I understand it may defy the point of the SEO (to some degree). However
1] Will it not help avoid URL clashes if thread topics are the same?
2] It helps avoid long URLs (for purposes of linking from other places, I suppose)
3] I was thinking of taking the approach that this forum itself takes: I read on a seperate thread there is the concept of 'internal Google SEO' optimisation whereby the SEO plugin is active and effective, yet thread URLs are preserved. For instance, this thread is: http://community.mybb.com/thread-122593.html
My understanding may be way off - so feel free to correct me!
4] If the simple answer is: "if you have the SEO plugin installed and active, then its not possible to have thread IDs in the URL" then I accept that. I have just seen mixed messages, indicating it is and isn't possible, thats all.
Would appreciate your thoughts on the 4 points above
Thanks in advance
1. I see the point there, that is something difficult to avoid, and merging like threads is a bane for every Admin, you have to consider:
a. how often it occurs
b. will allowing it, be that much of an issue to good SEO
My answer to that is that however often it happens, the pros outweigh the cons.
2. You could use the shorten URL plugin, plus an SEO'd URL is much more attractive to a reader than a long list on meaningless numbers.
3. Without working for Google or any search engine for that matter, it's hard to know how that is treated, all I do know is that since penguin and panda, content, and reliable content is more of factor in good PR than anything else, I personally have taken that to include URL SEO optimisation, and is the reason why I am slowly moving my two boards to MyBB, because of it's better SEO plugins.
4. From what I have noticed on my own board, the OP is optimised, subsequent replies to the thread are not, thy contain the non-optimised URL, how google treats this I am unsure, it may be worth investigating, and it may not, Google searches reveal that in most cases only the OP is indexed, you hardly ever see every post in a thread indexed by Google or any search engine for that matter.
So in conclusion, whether by design or error I feel that the SEO plugin on here is a much better solution than the one phpBB3 provides, which relies on a lot of Admin input, and as admin are not the only ones to open to new threads, you need some thing that does this for you.
You also have to consider how this plugin affects other plugins, if you use the MyBB publisher plugin you get the optimised URL used for the post, not the thread ID, which has to be a lot better.
My honest opinion is to leave "as is" and monitor the results.
Quote:some modifications require the use of Thread ID's
MyBB itself requires it, when merging threads - although Google SEO supports that particular feature. In my personal opinion, anything that asks you for a thread ID or thread URL is a flawed user interface. If there is an action to be done with a specific thread, it should be displayed on that threads page, or there should be some way to select that thread, like the inline moderation does. Asking the user for an ID or copy paste of an URL instead is kind of stupid.
Anyway, if you want IDs in your URLs with Google SEO, you have all of two options.
1) You could enable Google SEO URL Force Uniqufier. This forces the ID to be used for all Google SEO URLs. (At this time there is no setting to make it affect only thread URLs).
2) You could disable Google SEO URL. Either entirely, or just for threads only. If thread-123.html is what you want for threads, you disable Google SEO URLs for threads (set an empty thread URL scheme) and enable MyBB SEF URLs instead.
I don't recommend either of those options. I would improve on the plugin that asks the user for IDs instead.
Thanks for your thoughts Spangle - much appreciated. Must say, you've put good points forward against my doubts... enough to make me go with it (the SEO plugin) and not worry about not having thread IDs for now.
Just one point, you may have missed my point on #3. I was simply wondering how this forum (community.mybb.com) is SEO optimised and yet still maintains a thread ID in the URL without the text of the topic itself.
As mentioned, I came across a topic on these very forums which suggested a forum can be optimised 'behind the scenes' (for Google SEO) and still keep the thread ID. The indication on that thread was that's how community.mybb.com currently operates. Again, I may well be wrong...!
(2013-01-14, 01:12 PM)c_man Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for your thoughts Spangle - much appreciated. Must say, you've put good points forward against my doubts... enough to make me go with it (the SEO plugin) and not worry about not having thread IDs for now.
Just one point, you may have missed my point on #3. I was simply wondering how this forum (community.mybb.com) is SEO optimised and yet still maintains a thread ID in the URL without the text of the topic itself.
As mentioned, I came across a topic on these very forums which suggested a forum can be optimised 'behind the scenes' (for Google SEO) and still keep the thread ID. The indication on that thread was that's how community.mybb.com currently operates. Again, I may well be wrong...!
That I am not 100% sure of, it may be in the settings of the plugins.
(2013-01-14, 01:42 PM)Spangle Wrote: [ -> ]That I am not 100% sure of, it may be in the settings of the plugins.
No problem, I didn't expect you to know, I was just wondering if it was a well known technique (if true, of course) that goes hand in hand with the likes of the Google SEO plugin.
(2013-01-14, 01:45 PM)c_man Wrote: [ -> ] (2013-01-14, 01:42 PM)Spangle Wrote: [ -> ]That I am not 100% sure of, it may be in the settings of the plugins.
No problem, I didn't expect you to know, I was just wondering if it was a well known technique (if true, of course) that goes hand in hand with the likes of the Google SEO plugin.
It's most likely to be a code snippet, if one of the developers reads this thread they may know the answer.