I guess that the routing component of Laravel for MyBB 2.0 will allow redirections.
I also guess that the SEO-URL structure will be something like domain.com/mybb_path/subforum-name/thread-name.ext
In this case, I suggest saving the old path into the database into a special table if a thread is being moved into a different forum and throw a 301 Moved Permanently Redirect for the old path.
That'd allow specific URL structures and keeping them even if they are moved.
We're currently still using thread IDs for lookups (both because a primary key lookup is faster and because it's easier) - the URL looks like mybb.com/topic/1234/my-topic (though it is easily customisable via the routing configure so long as the ID is maintained). When a thread is moved, it currently keeps the same ID (only the forum_id column changes). We are however using canonical URLs in the HTML. I'm not an expert on SEO, so I'm not sure if Google might penalise for this.
I think it'd be wise to switch to a URL scheme that does include the forum the thread is in. It's better SEO-wise.
Think of my example: domain.com/mybb_path/subforum-name/thread-name.ext
Let's do a car forum. Subforum is called Audi A6, thread is about a damaged engine.
With my proposal it'll look like: domain.com/mybb_path/audi-a6/damaged-engine.ext
instead of
domain.com/mybb_path/damaged-engine/1234/thread-about-damaged-engine.ext
if I understand you properly.
It'd make sense to use the forum in the URL to clearly separate the thread from a subforum Chevrolet where somebody talks about the damaged engine of his Chevrolet for example.
And if the thread is being moved from Audi A6 to Audi A4 for some reason, the URL would change and thusfor would need a 301 redirect set.
(2015-09-11, 06:59 AM)Lennart Sauter Wrote: [ -> ]I think it'd be wise to switch to a URL scheme that does include the forum the thread is in. It's better SEO-wise.
Think of my example: domain.com/mybb_path/subforum-name/thread-name.ext
Let's do a car forum. Subforum is called Audi A6, thread is about a damaged engine.
With my proposal it'll look like: domain.com/mybb_path/audi-a6/damaged-engine.ext
instead of
domain.com/mybb_path/damaged-engine/1234/thread-about-damaged-engine.ext
if I understand you properly.
It'd make sense to use the forum in the URL to clearly separate the thread from a subforum Chevrolet where somebody talks about the damaged engine of his Chevrolet for example.
And if the thread is being moved from Audi A6 to Audi A4 for some reason, the URL would change and thusfor would need a 301 redirect set.
It might be, but from what I remember Google actually doesn't care much about URL structure compared to other factors. Looking up the forum name would add a small amount of overhead for what could be very little SEO gain. Again, I'm not an SEO expert and could be talking complete rubbish here.
(2015-09-11, 08:41 AM)Euan T Wrote: [ -> ]It might be, but from what I remember Google actually doesn't care much about URL structure compared to other factors. Looking up the forum name would add a small amount of overhead for what could be very little SEO gain. Again, I'm not an SEO expert and could be talking complete rubbish here.
From our observations the URL scheme is still quite important. It is also an improvement for the click-through-rates of users inside the Google Search results and provides some guidance here.
You might have a look at this serp generator, highlighting parts of the URL as google does it too:
http://www.sistrix.de/serp-snippet-generator/
Including the forum in title and url makes sense for me because if I look for a thread about a damaged Audi A6 engine for example, I'll more likely click on a search result with Audi A6 in url and title instead of one without it.