URL Optimization and Impact on SEO

URL is the first thing that you notice while you are accessing a webpage, website, or file online. A URL is known as the digital location or address of a specific resource you want to access. Either you type the URL or click it, which will redirect you to your intended location.

URL structure includes protocol, domain name, which in some cases may be followed by a subdomain, the path of the file or piece of information you are looking for, and slug. A few examples of URLs and breakdown of the URL structure

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

In the above example, we have 

• Protocol: https
• Domain name: en.wikipedia.org
• Path: wiki
• Slug: Main_Page

1. www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions

From this example, we have 

• Subdomain: www
• Domain name: youtube.com
• Path: feed/subscription

1. https://clickmedialab.com/blog/facebook-ads-strategies/

In the above example, we have 

• Protocol: https

• • Domain name: clickmedialab.com
  • Path: blog

• Slug: facebook-ads-strategies

What is URL optimization?

URLs are designed to be user-readable, unlike IP addresses, which consist only of numerical digits. A well-structured URL is an optimized URL that is easily accessed by both users and search engine crawlers. When discussing website optimization, attention to detail is important. Creating  optimized URLs for websites is crucial for their indexing, search engine visibility, and ranking.

Importance of URLs from SEO perspective

Let’s discuss why URLs are important:

• User experience

A good URL is meaningful, easy to read, and provides context about the content of the page even before the page is accessed. This gives the user authority to decide if they want to visit the specific link, which will also help in reaching a more relevant audience. A well crafted URL also eliminates the chances of spam links.

•  Search Engine Ranking

URLs are not only helpful for humans; they are also useful for search engine crawlers. They assist search engines in understanding the page’s content and facilitate efficient indexing. Using relevant keywords on the website can increase your SEO ranking. URLs play a role in SEO ranking, alongside other factors such as relevant content, optimized images, website speed, etc.

• URL as a Link

In some instances, there is a need to write a complete link instead of hyperlinking anchor text, such as in printable documents where direct access to a link may be necessary. An unoptimized link, which is long and appears random or meaningless, can detract from the visual appeal of a document. An optimized URL that is relevant to the page content can also act as a hyperlink, giving it a professional and tidy look.

URL SEO Best practices

Are you wondering how to create an optimized link for your website? Don’t worry; we can help you with link optimization. Here are 10 best practices for URL search engine optimization.

• Keep it short and concise

To create a properly optimized link, try to keep it as short as possible. Long and descriptive links are difficult to read and remember, and they can negatively affect SEO. Clear and concise URLs are easy to crawl by search engines.

• Use word separators (hyphens).

First, you need to understand why we need to use word separators. They make the text more readable and eliminate confusion. Now the question arises: whether you should use hyphens or underscores as word separators. Use hyphens instead of underscores. Hyphens are supported by Google’s search engine algorithms; therefore, by following their guidelines, you can achieve a higher ranking score.

• Avoid using dates

Avoid adding dates in your link slug unless it’s necessary. For example, for a news agency, adding a date makes sense because it can help users identify if the article is new or old. Otherwise, adding a date is similar to adding an expiration date to your website content. Unless your content needs date relevance, it should be avoided, as users and search engines prefer new content.

• Avoid using of articles

Try not to use articles or unnecessary words in your URLs. Articles such as ‘a,’ ‘and,’ ‘the,’ ‘to,’ ‘for,’ ‘by,’ etc. don’t add any value to URL SEO. Nor do they negatively affect your SEO score. They can make your URL lengthy. Let’s see an example and determine which one is better: www.course.com/learn-how-to-run-a-facebook-ad or www.course.com/learn-facebook-ads. Of course, the second one. It clearly communicates what the page is about without using articles.

• Dont complicate

Don’t complicate your links by adding long paths, using unnecessary details, or stuffing keywords. It affects readability and the user experience. Complicated URLs are difficult to remember and might affect the efficiency of search engine crawlers, which will lead to a decrease in website traffic.

• Add keywords

Adding relevant keywords to your URL will help users as well as search engines understand the content of your page without even crawling the whole webpage. It can also contribute to increasing the click through rate on the page.

• Avoid stuffing keyword

While using keywords is recommended, it doesn’t mean you need to stuff your URL with keywords. Even if they are relevant to your content, overuse of keywords would be of no good. For example, a URL like www.clickmedialab.com/blog/search-engine-optimization/best-practices-url-optimization seems unprofessional and untidy, right? How about www.clickmedialab.com/seo/urloptimization? It looks more clean and readable.

• Avoid uppercase letters

Avoid using uppercase letters in your links that will be difficult to memorize for users. It will also impact the consistency of the link.

• Avoid Broken links

Using broken links in your site is not good practice. Broken links increase the bounce rate, as users immediately leave the page when they see a 404 error page. Too many broken links can even penalize your website and impact its ranking, as search engine algorithms avoid showing users error pages.

• Clear Navigation

Properly optimized links make navigation easy for users as well as search engines. Search engines will quickly organize your pages and identify the important content.

Conclusion

Optimized URLs are not only easy to read and improve the user experience, but they can also be beneficial from an SEO perspective. However, it’s important to mention that URL optimization is not the sole factor contributing to website ranking. Many other factors play a crucial role in the search engine optimization of a webpage or site.