I am noticing that more and more sites prefer using "friendly URLs" over adding information as query parameters. For example:
domain.com/product/3343/
compared to
domain.com?page=product&id=3343
Disregarding personal flavor, what are the core differences between the two approaches?
domain.com/product/3343/
The benefits of using the above URL structure are:
Easier Recognition
When displayed in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages), the above link is more identifiable to visitors as to what content it might lead to. The same is true when the link text isn't provided or available, such as for those viewers with accessibility issues or those using simplified browsers in text-mode (like Lynx).
Easier Search Engine Crawling
The above URL doesn't appear to be dynamic to search engines, which can get confused by lots of parameters. It's Google's advice to make URL's as less complex as possible to aid with crawling, as indicated in this Google Webmaster Tools answer: URL Structure
Keyword Indexing
If the above link were to be listed without link text, search engines might identify keywords in it to aid with indexing. An example might be directories and link sites where the link text was not included.
domain.com?page=product&id=3343
The only benefit for the above URL structure is that it's easier to manage in sites with lots of dynamic content, as it could require work to convert the URL's to more friendly ones.
