February 7, 2017
We talk a lot about the components of good SEO. On page, content strategy, link building, and everything else that makes for strong, healthy SEO. Because SEO is such a forward-thinking practice, the basics can fall by the wayside. For that reason, it can sometimes be helpful to revisit the fundamentals of good SEO and online presence to make sure you’re covering all your bases.
One such fundamental that’s as basic to your site’s existence as anything else is URL structuring. While it isn’t by any means an absolute must or deal-breaker for SEO, having optimized URL structures can have some really positive benefits, like:
Who wouldn’t want all that?
Despite the fact that it isn’t imperative for a successful website, having bangin’ URL structures can really make for a more ideal SEO situation. By that, I mean:
So, as you can see, a concise and well-structured URL can positively affect user experience because the user is even on your website. Having URLs that entice clicks and drive user interest will send all the right signals to search engines measuring what users are and are not engaging with.
I’m talking about the $#@%-&* symbol action you see at the end of a URLs sometimes. One study found that only .194% of top ranking websites use extraneous characters in their URLs, which is a pretty clear indicator of why you shouldn’t use them.
So, how should you structure your URLs?
A few rules to guide you:
This image is a helpful formula for understanding what your URL structure should ideally look like:
Whenever possible, try and stick to the simplicity of this structure. It’ll help give your URLs a clear, crawlable, and click-friendly design that will further supplement your SEO.
Is your traffic declining? Are you not generating enough leads or sales? We’ve been growing businesses since 2009, let us do it for you!
Schedule a ConsultationWe’ve been growing businesses since 2009, let us do it for you!