URL or Universal Resource Locator as the name suggests is the address of a www/World Wide Web page. For reference let’s say it is very similar to a house address. Users and search engines locate you in the online world based on this address. Remember the times you had an address for a house you really wanted to visit, but couldn’t. Probably because it was hard to locate as the address was right but not very clear. The URLs work the very same way.
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| 8 Must Follow Tips for Creating SEO-friendly URL : eAskme |
Other people are reading: Things Every SEO Newbie Has to Know
URL optimization is one of the major points of SEO/Search Engine Optimization. You understand by now, it’s a pretty major deal breaker. Contrary to what most marketers think, URL isn’t just about entering words in the URL slug or just putting the right keywords. It is so much more than that, and it is important you understand it. You will gradually learn how to tick off the right URL strategies to optimize your SEO.
If you serious about SEO optimization using the right URLs, then please carry forward reading this.
1. Make the URLs scan-able –
The average web user today is very attentive. He checks the URL before deciding to check out your web page. It is quite basic though, why would someone check a page that looks suspicious.Example - http://www.asperhershines.com/en/6swvsvgt/?234sdgg/beautifulurls.html OR http://www.asphershines.com/en/49-beautiful-urls.html
Obviously, any sensible user would click on the second. A properly designed URL gives both the user and the search engines a good idea about what the destination page is about.
2. Add Keywords –
You knew this would be important, didn’t you? But what you probably didn’t know was the right number of keywords you can use without being penalized. Yes, if you include too many keywords in your URL you can be penalized. Keywords, if used rightly can actually boost your ranking. Looking at the usage of meaningful keywords from a user/reader’s perspective serves the right purpose.Because it makes your URL look like a mini anchor text, briefly describing what your content is about. Resulting in more clicks on your content. BUT, please don’t be stupid to include too many keywords and make it obvious to the reader. The right number would be 1 or 2 keywords per URL.
3. Use Separators –
When making URLs you will be using words. And they would need to be separated, for obvious reasons. Now you don’t plan to write URLs the way you write sentences or do you? Usually, Hyphen or Underscore is used as separators. But even Google says Hyphen is a more preferable option. Because new users confuse underscores to spaces and do not land on the desired websites.4. Keep an eye on the length –
There are no such rules to decide on the length of the URL. But it is best to keep it short. There have been surveys done on Google which suggest Google rankings go down when the URL length becomes longer. Keep the number of character something between 50 to 60 for the best SEO optimization.For the usage of words, I would suggest a good 4-5 words per URL. This gives a pretty decent idea of what my content is about.
5. Try to match the URL with the title –
Be consistent, it matters even when you are designing a URL. The page title, URL and the description are displayed together when a user sees them on the search results or on a social platform. So if your Title talks about Apples and your URL talks about Penguins, it becomes dicey for the user. The URL must have a word or two about the product or service you are talking about.6. Be very cautious when using stop words –
Stop words are like fillers, they connect the keywords to make sense. i.e.- a, an, or, but etc. You won’t be obviously penalized for using them but they are not a value-add to your URL either. See, search engines do not value these stop words. So you are wasting your URL weight and character limit. Avoid using stop words unless you need them to make sense in the URL or make it readable for the user.7. Be case sensitive –
Yes, URL’s are case sensitive. You might know that, but most users don’t. It can lead to redirecting your page or 404 errors. It redirects your users to another website with a similar name or URL. Users might find it hard to remember the capital letters, so why take the risk.8. Remember not to use the same keyword twice –
I am asking to avoid any repetition in URLs actually. It is for 2 reasons why I avoid repeating in URLs. Firstly, Google doesn’t recognize the same word twice. Secondly and most importantly, it hampers how the search engine user sees your URL. It looks tricky with repetitions.A very basic and clean structure of URL is what matters to your readers and search engines. There are many variables to consider when structuring an ideal URL. It could as technical as choosing a top domain or as simple as not adding multiple folders in your URL. It might seem tricky but is absolutely doable when done step by step.
Let us know about your URL optimization strategies that worked for you. We could all use the help !
