Lauren Busby

October 9, 2024
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Mastering SEO Friendly URLs

by | SEO

You’ve poured your heart into SEO—tweaking keywords, optimizing images, and crafting killer content. But if your click-through rates still aren’t where you want them to be, it might be time to look at a sneaky culprit: your URL structure. Often overlooked but oh-so-important, your URLs can make a big difference in how both users and […]
Website planning sitemap tool on laptop screen

You’ve poured your heart into SEO—tweaking keywords, optimizing images, and crafting killer content. But if your click-through rates still aren’t where you want them to be, it might be time to look at a sneaky culprit: your URL structure. Often overlooked but oh-so-important, your URLs can make a big difference in how both users and search engines find and trust your site. Today, we’re diving into the nitty-gritty of creating SEO friendly URLs that don’t just work but work wonders for your website’s visibility.

Why URL Structure Matters for SEO

When it comes to SEO, every detail counts. Yet, one often-overlooked piece of the puzzle is your URL structure. Think of it as the street address for your online content—it guides both search engines and visitors to exactly where they need to go. A well-structured URL isn’t just a random string of words and symbols; it’s a powerful tool that can enhance your site’s visibility and user experience.

So, why should you care about how your URLs are built? For starters, a clean and readable URL is like a friendly handshake—it makes a solid first impression. Visitors trust URLs they can easily understand, and that trust can boost your click-through rates.

It’s not just about the user experience (though that is cricitcal). This trust is also essential for Google’s EEAT evaluation of your content (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Search engines consider URLs as clues to gauge the relevance and authority of your content. By aligning your URLs with Google’s focus on trust and clarity, you’re not only helping algorithms understand your content—you’re also reinforcing your site’s credibility in the eyes of both users and search engines.

Breaking Down the Basics: What is a URL?

Before we dive deeper into SEO best practices, let’s get back to basics: What exactly is a URL? In simple terms, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is made up of three main parts:

  • The scheme or protocol: Usually HTTP or HTTPS, this sets the stage for secure browsing.
  • Domain name: The core address of your website (like trebletree.co) that acts as your online home.
  • Path: The specific section or page you’re directing visitors to, such as “/blog” or “/services.” The path can display your content hierarchy as in the example below.

For example, in the URL “https://example.com/blog,” ‘https’ shows it’s secure, ‘example.com’ is the domain, and ‘/blog’ points directly to the blog page.

Now that you’re armed with a basic understanding of URL components, we’re ready to dig into the nitty-gritty of how to create SEO friendly URLs that tick all the right boxes.

Aligning Your URLs with Site Hierarchy to Boost SEO

Building an SEO-friendly URL structure goes beyond just picking the right keywords—it’s also about organizing your URLs in a way that clearly reflects your site’s hierarchy. Think of your URLs as a roadmap that guides both users and search engines through your content. When URLs align with a logical structure, it helps Google understand the relationships between your pages, enhancing your overall site architecture and signaling expertise and authority.

One effective strategy is to use a pillar/cluster model to organize your content. In this approach, you create comprehensive “pillar” pages that cover broad topics, and then link to more specific “cluster” pages that delve into subtopics. By aligning your URLs with this strategy, you ensure that your content is not only well-structured but also reinforces your EEAT signals (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).

For example, if your website focuses on digital marketing, a pillar page URL might look like this: https://example.com/digital-marketing/. From there, your cluster pages would branch out with URLs like:

  • https://example.com/digital-marketing/seo-strategies/
  • https://example.com/digital-marketing/content-marketing/
  • https://example.com/digital-marketing/social-media-tactics/

This hierarchical URL structure makes it easy for Google to understand that these cluster pages are related to the broader digital marketing topic, which boosts your site’s authority and relevance for those topics. It also helps users navigate your site intuitively, finding all the content they need on a specific subject in one place.

Organizing your URLs with this pillar/cluster strategy reinforces your site’s EEAT by demonstrating your deep knowledge of a topic and your ability to break down complex ideas into easily accessible content. The clearer your content’s relationships are to both users and search engines, the stronger your site’s presence will be in search results.

Best Practices for Crafting SEO Friendly URLs

Now that we’ve established the importance of aligning your URLs with your site hierarchy, it’s time to dive into the next step: crafting the actual URLs themselves. This is where we shift our focus from the big-picture structure of your site to the specific, keyword-driven URLs that will help each page stand out in search results. By following these best practices, you’ll create URLs that not only reflect your site’s organization but also boost your SEO by targeting relevant keywords.

To create SEO-friendly URLs, follow these key best practices:

  1. Keep Your URLs Short and Sweet
  2. Use Keywords Strategically in URLs
  3. Always Use Hyphens Instead of Underscores
  4. Avoid Special Characters, Stop Words, and Unnecessary Numbers
  5. Stick to Lowercase Letters in Your URLs
  6. Use a Logical, Hierarchical Structure in Your URLs

Let’s dive deeper into each practice to understand why they matter and how to implement them effectively.

1. Keep Your URLs Short and Sweet

When it comes to URL length, simplicity is your best friend. Shorter URLs are easier for users to read, remember, and share, making them more likely to click through. Aim to keep your URLs concise by focusing on the main topic or title of your web page. Remove any unnecessary words or filler to make sure your URL is clear and straight to the point.

Example: Instead of using https://example.com/this-is-our-new-blog-post-about-digital-marketing, try using https://example.com/digital-marketing-tips.

The more straightforward your URL, the better it will perform in search results and on social media platforms.

2. Use Keywords Strategically in URLs

Using relevant keywords in your URLs is a smart way to boost your page’s search engine relevance. Keywords also help search engines understand what your web page is about, so include them as close to the beginning of the URL as possible.

Example: Instead of using https://example.com/page123, use https://example.com/seo-tips to clearly indicate the page’s focus.

Remember, your keywords should feel natural and not forced into the URL—focus on readability first.

3. Always Use Hyphens Instead of Underscores

One common question in URL formatting is whether to use hyphens or underscores. The answer is simple: always use hyphens. Google treats hyphens as spaces that separate words, making your URL easier for both users and search engines to read. Underscores, on the other hand, link words together, which can cause confusion for search algorithms.

Example: Use https://example.com/seo-tips-and-tricks rather than https://example.com/seo_tips_and_tricks.

This small detail can make a big difference in how search engines interpret your content.

4. Avoid Special Characters, Stop Words, and Unnecessary Numbers

Special characters like &, @, or % can create issues in URLs and lead to confusion. Similarly, avoid using numbers unless they’re essential (like in product codes) since they can change over time, making your URLs outdated. It’s also a good idea to skip stop words like “and,”, “an”, “a”, “the,” or “of” that don’t add value to your URL structure.

Example: Simplify https://example.com/the-best-of-seo-tips-and-tricks to https://example.com/seo-tips-tricks.

Cleaner URLs improve readability and are more likely to be shared accurately.

5. Stick to Lowercase Letters in Your URLs

When it comes to URL formatting, always use lowercase letters. URLs are case-sensitive, which means variations like /Blog/SEO-Tips and /blog/seo-tips could be seen as two different pages by search engines. This can lead to indexing issues or duplicate content problems.

Example: Use https://example.com/blog/seo-tips instead of https://example.com/Blog/SEO-Tips.

Keeping everything in lowercase ensures a smoother experience for everyone involved, from visitors to search engines.

6. Use a Logical, Hierarchical Structure in Your URLs

Alluded to earlier in this article, your URL structure should reflect the hierarchy of your website, guiding both users and search engines through your content in a clear and organized way. A logical URL structure helps search engines understand the relationships between your pages, boosting your site’s authority on the topic.

Example: Maintain a consistent structure like https://example.com/blog/seo/seo-tips to clearly show that “SEO Tips” is a subcategory of your broader “SEO” and “Blog” topics.

A well-organized hierarchy not only enhances the user experience but also reinforces your site’s credibility, making it easier for search engines to interpret and rank your content.

Avoiding URL Pitfalls: How to Sidestep Common Mistakes in SEO-Friendly URL Structures

Even with a solid understanding of the basics, it’s easy to fall into some common traps when crafting URLs for your site. Let’s look at the most frequent pitfalls in URL structure and how to avoid them to ensure your SEO strategy stays on track.

1. Handling Dynamic URL Parameters

Dynamic URLs are automatically generated URLs that often include filters, tags, session IDs, or other parameters, commonly seen in e-commerce sites and larger blog platforms. These URLs typically contain characters like ?, &, or = and are used to track user interactions, filter products, or display specific content variations. While dynamic URLs are useful for functionality, they can pose significant challenges for SEO. They are harder for search engines to understand and less appealing to users, which can negatively impact your site’s rankings and click-through rates.

How to avoid this pitfall: Where possible, use URL rewriting techniques to convert these complex, parameter-filled URLs into clean, static-looking URLs that are more user- and search engine-friendly. For example, instead of using https://example.com/product?id=1234&color=red, opt for a cleaner version like https://example.com/product/red-widget. This approach not only enhances the readability of your URLs but also improves their SEO performance by making it easier for search engines to index and rank your content.

For e-commerce or large-scale sites that rely on dynamic URLs for functionality, consider implementing canonical tags to inform search engines of the preferred version of your web page. This helps consolidate link equity and prevents issues related to duplicate content caused by multiple URL variations pointing to the same product or page.

2. The Trailing Slash Debate: Consistency is Key

One of the most debated aspects of URL structure is whether to include a trailing slash (/) at the end of URLs. Technically, search engines can treat URLs with and without trailing slashes as two different entities—potentially leading to duplicate content issues. For example, https://example.com/path and https://example.com/path/ could be seen as separate pages.

How to avoid this pitfall: The best practice is to choose one format (with or without the trailing slash) and stick with it consistently across your entire site.

If you decide to use trailing slashes, make sure the non-trailing slash version automatically redirects to the trailing slash version, and vice versa. This way, even if external websites link to the wrong version, your site will still point visitors to the correct page, preventing duplicate content issues and preserving your SEO value.

3. URL Redirection: Preserve Your Link Equity with 301 Redirects

Changing your URL structure or migrating a site without proper redirection can result in broken links, lost traffic, and a drop in search engine rankings. When you delete or move pages, any existing links to those URLs could lose their SEO value if not properly managed.

How to avoid this pitfall: Always use 301 redirects to signal that a web page has permanently moved to a new URL. This type of redirect tells search engines to pass most of the link equity from the old URL to the new one, preserving your site’s SEO strength. For example, if you’re updating a URL from https://example.com/old-page to https://example.com/new-page, a 301 redirect ensures that any traffic and SEO value from the old page flows seamlessly to the new one.

4. Future-Proofing Your URLs: Think Long-Term

One common mistake is using dates or time-specific folders in your URLs—something platforms like WordPress often set as the default for blog posts. Date-based URLs can make your content seem outdated even if it’s still relevant, which might hurt click-through rates and rankings.

How to avoid this pitfall: Avoid using dates in your URLs unless the content is truly time-sensitive. For example, if you’re writing about specific trends for a given year, like https://example.com/2024-seo-trends, it makes sense to include the date. However, for broader or evergreen content, stick to a more general format like https://example.com/blog/seo-trends. This keeps the URL relevant over time, making it easier to update the content without changing the link, thus preserving your link equity.

Choosing a timeless URL structure helps your content stay valuable and boosts its chances of ranking well long after it’s published.

Key Takeaways for Webmasters, SEOs, and Content Creators

Mastering your URL structure isn’t just about checking off SEO boxes—it’s about creating a smoother path for both search engines and visitors to find your content. A well-structured URL is one of those simple yet powerful details that can make a big difference in how your site performs.

By keeping your URLs clean, relevant, and consistent, you’re building a solid foundation that strengthens your site’s authority and boosts its search rankings. Focus on crafting URLs that clearly reflect your content and make sense to your audience—that’s what sets you up for long-term SEO success.

In the end, nailing your URL structure is all about the little details that help your site shine. Keep it clear, keep it simple, and watch your web presence grow stronger over time.

Lauren Busby

Lauren Busby’s passion for SEO and web design is at the heart of everything she does. With over a decade of experience, she’s honed her expertise in keyword strategy, technical SEO, and scaling efforts for large franchises and enterprises. Lauren loves combining creativity with technical precision, ensuring every website she works on is both beautifully designed and optimized to perform at its best in search engines.