URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is a thread of characters that are used to identify and find a specific resource on the internet. A URL is fundamentally the web address that a user types in the browser’s bar to open a website or a certain page on a website.
SEO-friendly URLs, on the other hand, are URLs that are created in regard to a user’s perspective and also for search engines such as Google to understand what a web page is about. SEO-friendly URLs are optimized in terms of length, choice of words and readability. We will discuss below how you create the perfect URLs while targeting the keyword that you want to rank your page on. improve its visibility in search results.
Benefits of an optimized URL
These are important for any type of business that wants to improve their visibility online for both search engines and users. This helps them easier to remember the link to your site, and share it and makes it easier to navigate. In terms of a search engine, an optimized URL can serve the benefits of being easy to index, and crawl and having a higher chance of ranking first on the search engine results page.
TOP PRACTICES FOR MAKING SEO-FRIENDLY URLS
Keep the URLs short and concise
Shorter URLs are helpful for users to remember and share, while for search engines, these are easier to read. The best practice is to keep the URLs up to a number of 60 characters.
Choose easy-to-read words
Your choice of words also matters. Use short and easy words that a user can easily click and precisely describe the content of the page. It is best to avoid using numbers, dates or symbols that may become outdated or may be difficult to understand.
Use Your Keyword
Your URL should contain a relevant keyword that you want to rank your page on – this can be the focus keyword for your page.
Add hyphens in between words
Hyphens (-) act as word separators. By using hyphens to distinguish words in the URL, you can read the text clearly and this also proves to be helpful for a search engine.
Use lowercase letters in your URL
Use lowercase letters in the URL to avoid confusion and errors caused by uppercase and lowercase letters. You should also avoid using connecting words such as ‘and’ or ‘the’.
Make sure your URLs are unique
Lastly, ensure that each page on your website has a unique URL. This will help in avoiding any issues with duplicate content and any sort of confusion.
