When SEO started, keyword stuffing was effective. Over time, though, algorithm updates have changed things, leaving only a few practices, like URL optimization, still important.
Google’s algorithm changes have altered the SEO landscape, but URL optimization has remained crucial. It’s a key part of on-page SEO that every content marketer should understand.
To help, allow us to explain the basics of URL optimization and share current best practices and expert tips.
What is a URL?
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is like an internet street address. Instead of guiding mail carriers, it helps users find webpages. Just as a physical address includes town, street, and building number, URLs have levels to direct users to specific pages within a website.
A URL usually includes several parts: Protocol, subdomain, domain, subdirectory, and slug. The protocol can be HTTP or HTTPS, with HTTPS indicating a secure connection. The subdomain is often “www.” but can also be custom ones like “shop.” or “blog.”
Next is the domain name that contains a top-level domain like “.com” and a second-level domain, typically a brand or project name.
These parts will lead you to the homepage. From thereon, you might navigate to a subdirectory and then to a slug, which identifies specific pages.
URL Example
For instance, in the URL https://blog.virtualoplossing.com/marketing/url-for-seo-sucess, the different parts are:
- Protocol: HTTPS://
- Subdomain: blog.
- SLD: virtualoplossing
- TLD: .com
- Subdirectory: /marketing
- Slug: /url-for-seo-sucess
One can easily tell from this URL that they’re on a blog about URL basics. It’s been posted by Virtual Oplossing and hosted using a secure connection.
Importance of URL in SEO
URLs help direct visitors to the right webpage and show search engines what keywords a page is relevant for. They also make it easier to navigate the internet compared to using numerical IP addresses.
To make the most of these benefits, it’s important to follow SEO best practices for URLs. Let’s explore why having well-structured URLs is so important.
Ranking Factors in SEO Success
URLs are a factor in Google’s search rankings because they help search engines understand what each webpage is about. To improve this, relevant keywords are added to URLs so Google can better grasp the content and its purpose.
Improving User Experience
Keyword stuffing is outdated. Now, SEO is about balancing the needs of search engines and actual readers. The goal is to create descriptive URLs so users know what to expect from the page.
If someone shares a Uniform Resource Locator via direct message, it should make the recipient feel confident they’re clicking on a valuable and relevant page. Achieving this helps increase backlinks and sales.
Creating Accessible Links
One thing that’s frustrating about LinkedIn is how it handles external URLs. You can’t use anchor text for hyperlinks; you have to include the full, often unattractive link, like https://www.example.com/post/p123/.
Although a link formatting shortener could help make the URL look better, it’s an extra step. It’s best to use descriptive, well-formatted, and concise URLs from the start to avoid that issue.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at the SEO best practices to achieve this.
Creating the perfect internet address is just one aspect of ranking well in search results.
SEO Best Practices for URLs
1. The Importance of Simplicity in URL Design
SEO is very complex and always changing, much like a challenging puzzle. One useful resource is Google’s guidelines on URL optimization. They suggest creating a simple URL structure and using clear, descriptive words.
Although “simple” can mean different things to different people, here are some effective Internet Address structures based on the type of website:
- Content website: https://example.com/category/post-title
- Ecommerce website: https://example.com/product-category/product-name
- Service-based website: https://example.com/service-category/service-name
- Local business website: https://example.com/location/service
- Portfolio website: https://example.com/portfolio/project-name
2. Best Practices for Standardizing URL Formats
Using one of the recommended URL structures is a good idea, but it’s also helpful to brainstorm with a team to find what works best. Consistency is key to maintaining a strong URL structure.
Ryan Ratkowski, founder of Cascade Interactive, explains that URLs are a stable foundation. Changing them later can lead to broken links and lost SEO benefits unless managed properly with redirects.
This is like setting up a building’s plumbing: it’s important to get it right from the start rather than making big changes later. It’s best to follow SEO best practices for URLs when first building a website.
3. The Three-Level Structure Approach
When setting up a URL structure for the first time, there was a temptation to use many subfolders and categories. However, it’s now clearer to keep things simple and logical.
Jacob Kettner, CEO of First Rank, advises keeping URLs to “a maximum of three hierarchical levels” to ensure they are clear without being too complex.
He explains that this approach balances categorization with user-friendliness, avoiding overwhelming users.
4. Better to Skip the Dates
They carefully consider adding timestamps to URLs, as it can make a webpage seem outdated. Both users and Google prefer content that appears fresh. Keeping URLs timeless is often better.
Maddy Osman, founder of The Blogsmith, agrees by noting that articles usually take three to six months to rank in the top 10 on search results. Adding a year to the URL can reduce the article’s ranking potential.
For WordPress users, it’s important to check under “Settings” > “Permalinks” to make sure the permalink structure doesn’t include time information.
5. Removing Non-Essential Words in Slugs
Quick question. Which URL is better?
- /how-to-optimize-your-urls-for-search-quick-tip
- /how-to-optimize-urls-for-search
Writers and editors often ask about this. The preferred Internet Address removes unnecessary words like “your,” “quick,” and “tip,” making it simpler and clearer.
A 2023 Backlinko study showed that shorter URLs usually rank better than longer ones, so keeping URLs 66 characters is a good practice.
While removing words like “to” and “for” could shorten the URL further, keeping them makes the URL more readable. It’s about finding the right balance, which becomes easier with practice.
6. Managing Dynamic URLs
While static URLs stay the same each time they are accessed, some website builders generate dynamic URL parameters automatically when the page loads.
In these situations, there isn’t full control over the URL, resulting in URLs with random symbols and numbers. This can be challenging, but it’s not a major concern.
If you understand your website’s limitations and optimize the URL slugs you can control, parameterized URLs shouldn’t negatively impact your SEO performance.
7. Relevant Keywords in SEO
Since URLs help search crawlers understand what a webpage is about, it’s a good idea to include relevant keywords in them. This also boosts the click-through rate (CTR) for the page.
A 2023 Backlinko study found that webpages with URLs matching search keywords had a higher CTR compared to those with unrelated URLs.
For example, if users search for “ergonomic keyboards,” using an SEO-friendly URL slug like “ergonomic keyboards” is better than using something like “flexible keyboards.”
8. Prioritizing Quality Over Keyword Stuffing
When an article relates to several main keywords, it’s not effective to include all of them in the URL. Doing so can create a long, messy URL like this:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/url-best-practices-for-seo-friendly-structure-optimization.html
Such a URL looks cluttered and can confuse readers about the page’s content. SEO best practices emphasize usability, so simpler URLs are preferred.
Instead, it’s better to select one key keyword for the URL and let the content web address the other topics.
9. Content That Is Easy to Read
It’s important that URLs are clear and easy for users to understand. People should be able to quickly grasp what they’ll find based on the URL slug.
To achieve this, sometimes keywords need to be reordered, words omitted, or stop words added. For example, if the URL slug “/google-algorithm-update-names” is too confusing, it can be changed to “/names-of-google-algorithm-updates” for better clarity.
10. URL Readability with Hyphen Word Separation
URLs cannot have spaces. To avoid ending up with a URL slug like “/googlealogrithmupdatenames,” a separator is needed. Google recommends using hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) for this purpose.
11. Stick to Lowercase Letters in URLs
Even though proper capitalization is important, lowercase letters are preferred in URLs. Using lowercase keeps URLs consistent and avoids issues with case-sensitive web servers, where a user might enter a URL in lowercase instead of uppercase.
12. Avoid Duplicate Slugs Across Your Website
URLs must have unique slugs to avoid being seen as duplicate content by Google, which can lead to penalties. To prevent pages from competing in search results, it’s important to use distinct URL slugs.
For example, if an ecommerce store ends up with similar URLs like these:
- https://www.example.com/product-category-one
- https://www.example.com/product-category-directory/product-category-one
Canonical tags are used to tell search engines which URL should be shown in search results. This is a common technical SEO practice.
Getting the Most Out of Your URL Structure
When people are scrolling on their phones, they don’t usually analyze the URLs they click; they just tap on them. However, well-structured URLs can lead to more traffic. Following best practices becomes second nature with time. SEO is a significant part of Digital Marketing.