Is using str_replace to replace "?" with another character a good alternative to urlencode for SEO optimization in PHP?

When dealing with SEO optimization in PHP, it is important to ensure that URLs are properly encoded to avoid any issues with special characters. While using `str_replace` to replace "?" with another character may work in some cases, it is not a reliable method for URL encoding. The recommended approach for encoding URLs in PHP is to use the `urlencode` function, which properly encodes special characters according to the URL encoding rules.

// Using urlencode for proper URL encoding
$url = "https://example.com/page?query=example";
$encoded_url = urlencode($url);

echo $encoded_url;