Search engine optimization (SEO) involves a set of practices that are made to improve the positioning of specific web pages during organic search results. When you’re typing a phrase into a search engine like Google, for example, the most SEO-friendly sites will appear closer to the top of the page. Organic search is how people access online content. If a business wants to direct more traffic to its site, then it’ll want to utilize SEO-friendly practices to guarantee the visibility of its page. Search engines typically use bots or crawlers to gather information about content that’s found on the internet. It begins with a well-known web page and follows different links to determine the quality of the content and how it’s semantically connected.
There are a variety of factors that go into search engine optimization, including a balance of on-page and off-page practices that help a site rank higher. The world of SEO is complex, and it’s always evolving. Some of the best SEO practices include link building as well as making sure that a site is friendly to search engines. One aspect of making sure that a site is friendly to search engines is having a relevant URL, which stands for “uniform resource locator.” Keep reading for some of the best examples of SEO friendly URLs.
What is a URL and how does it affect SEO?
A URL is a unique address that a user typically types into a browser’s address bar. This request is then sent to a server where the URL’s information and data live. Once the server locates this information, it sends data to the web browser for the user to view. Most URLs involve a string of characters with a domain, a subfolder, and a slug or path. Web crawlers like Google’s typically use a number of different elements to determine a page’s content for optimization. This includes the URL structure and the URL text. It’s important to write a URL that is search engine-friendly right from the start in order to avoid a redirect. This is because a redirect will cause the server to move to another location to retrieve information, and it can cause load speed issues. A URL should have SEO keywords just as the content should.
How do you write an SEO-friendly URL?
If you’re interested in writing an SEO-friendly URL, you can start with target keywords. Make sure that the URL text includes your target keyword that is relevant to the content. A user should be able to identify what a page is about simply by looking at the URL, and crawlers do the same. It’s also important to avoid keyword stuffing. Use the most descriptive terms and make it concise. This results in a better user experience. Shorter URLs are more user-friendly and hyphens should be used to separate words. Readability and quality are key.
What are some examples of an SEO-friendly URL?
As mentioned above, an SEO-friendly URL includes target keywords and is straight to the point. Length is important, seeing as how the highest-ranking results usually have a total of 50 to 70 characters. It’s also important to use lowercase letters. A good example of an SEO-friendly URL would be “apple.com/airpods-pro” rather than “apple.com/airpodspro.” The former uses hyphens to separate words, which improves readability. And the text is straight to the point. Both users and crawlers can easily identify that the page is about AirPods Pro. Another great example of this is “amazon.com/kindle-ebooks” which is a lot better than “amazon.com/kindleebooks.” Google states that hyphens are easier for bots to understand.
As you can see there are a few factors that go into an SEO-friendly URL. Hopefully, the examples given above provide you with a better understanding of what makes a webpage better for SEO and how URLs play a significant role.
