the debate rages on..

if i use a php echo include for a header will a robot/spider even read it??

this issue causing big fights...:eek:

A search engine's spider just makes an http request, exactly like a browser does. The web server software has no way to differentiate between a request made by a spider, and one made by a "regular surfer" -- short of identifications made by referrer strings or IP addresses. So, unless you take steps to make something different happen, whatever you see when you visit a site is what a spider will be served.

But: it's certainly possible that an error made in setting something like this up could result in both spiders and actual visitors being served an improperly formatted header. In most cases a web browser won't even notice that, but you may inadvertantly not be giving a spider what you intend to give it.

So, validate your pages and check them out with a spider simulator. Tools for each of those steps and others are all over the web, including here (http://www.searchengineworld.com/misc/tools.htm).