Does a file extension matter for SEO anymore?

[thedorf]

I can have

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter

or

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter.php

or

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter.html

you get the point.

1) Which way (if any) is considered "the best approach" in 2017?

2) Does it even matter if I do not have a filename extension?

 

[mickyfu]

No file extention is better. Less fucking around if you need to change things.

 

[LinkHeros]

With regards to SEO, it doesn't matter. Having no extension is easier to maintain, and also looks better from a user perspective.

 

[wangbu]

file extensions don't affect ranking and should only be considered from a usability standpoint, however, keeping url neat and short is the best practice and will make your url easy to remember.

 

[thedorf]

Thanks everyone for your replies. All taken under consideration.

 

[timothyc3r]

I can have

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter

or

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter.php

or

w3.domain.kjk/newsletter.html

you get the point.

1) Which way (if any) is considered "the best approach" in 2017?

2) Does it even matter if I do not have a filename extension?

Does domain extensions affect SEO?
As the survey above stated that domain extension has a low effect on your SEO, the real impact of TLD is not sure yet. But here is what we know:

• The choice of TLD is pretty wide, from extensions dedicated to countries, to ones for industry areas or catchy ones (like .pizza for instance!)
• Site quality is still the first ranking factor and domain extensions won’t have any chance to be more important
• Country extensions can be a smart choice if you are developing your business only in this country. It can favor your SEO strategy
• Google has once again confirmed that the new domain extensions will offer no ranking advantage over traditional .com or .org domains. But let’s think it can have an indirect influence as we will see below
• Moz study shows that .org extension works better than those like .edu or .biz and slightly higher than .com