The role of naming your pages for SEO
An optimal URL structure also supports visibility on the internet. Like content search engine optimization, assigning URL names is about structure, search algorithms, and user-friendliness. In our article, we highlight the ideal structure for URL addresses and provide practical tips on how to do this easily.
1. What is a URL and how does it affect SEO?
The abbreviation URL stands for"Uniform Resource Locator"anduniquely identifies the location of a website. It contains theidentification,access type, andlocationof therespective page. For example, the URLhttps://taismo.de/seo-agentur-muenchen/indicatesthat
thesubpage"seo-agency-munich"
thewebsite"taismo.de"
via the"https" accessprotocol
Only a few users are aware of thetechnical characteristicsof aURL. Most would ratherbe able tofindandidentify the desired address asintuitively as possible.
This is exactly wheresearch engine optimization(SEO) comes into play. Search engine tools such asGoogle's bots don't justcrawlthe content of a page, such astext,images, andvideos. They also search through the URLs and rank them according to their relevance. That's why it's important to pay attention to technical rules, search engine factors, and human readability when assigning URLs.
Last but not least, pay special attention to the small s after http. In recent years, the access protocol "http" has changed to "https" in almost all URLs. "http(s)" stands forHypertext Transfer Protocol (Secure). With the current and now widely used protocol, data transmissionisencrypted. Without the s, some browsers warn of an insecure connection and sometimes block the page from loading—a dead end for those searching the web.
2. 5 tips for meaningful, findable URLs
So how can youbuildan SEO-friendly, logical, and correctURL structure that will last? We have compiled the most important tips for you.
Manageable length and meaningful characters
Complete URLs shouldcontaina maximum of74characters. Technically speaking, website addresses can be longer than this. However, search engines truncate them at 74 characters, meaning they appearincompleteinsearch results. This is detrimental to the findability of your site. You should also avoid special characters. Thenumbers0 to 9, theletters A to Z, andthecharacters "_", "-", "~," and "." are permitted. Other special characters must be encoded in URLs, which not only looks illegible but also takes up more space. Special characters also include German umlauts and the ß.
The use of keywords
Normally, amain keyword isdefinedfor a search engine optimized page. Among other things, the use of a popular keyword in relevant texts attracts the attention of search engines. It makes sense to also use this keyword in the URL. This gives search engines an additional way to find your content. You can alsouseso-calledlong-tail keywords, i.e., search terms that consist of a phrase. Connect the individual words of the phrase with hyphens (for example, online-marketing instead of online_marketing or onlinemarketing).
On the one hand, search engine bots understand that thisrefers toseveral words. On the other hand, it makes the internet address much easier for people to read. However, always focus on one main keyword instead of stringing several together in the URL. This looks untrustworthy and, in case of doubt, will be penalized by search engines as keyword stuffing.
If you design pages with similar keywords, it is a good idea to create so-called canonical URLs. Search engines may misunderstand closely related topics asduplicate content, which is penalized in the ranking. This can be avoided by consciously controlling the URLs that are to be crawled. Read more about this in our blog article about theCanonical Tag Generator.
Clear navigation
The structure of URLs also contributes significantly to navigation and orientation on the website. For example, collect all your solutions or products under the respective level, such as:
This makes it clear to users where they are on your site and what they can expect from this area. However, organize your navigation across a maximum of three levels. Bots do not dig any deeper than this, as only a certain amount of effort is allocated to each page. Levels deeper than the third would therefore not be indexed during crawling. In addition, a more complex structure becomes confusing for users.
Be careful when changing URLs
MovingyourURLs to new addresses canbejust astime-consumingandcostly as moving house. Some users may have saved the URL as a favorite, while others may have shared a link that is now invalid. In the best-case scenario, valuablebacklinks pointtoyour address. You don't want to lose these either because of a simple change of address. Therefore, carefully consider whether you want to change your URLs. If a URL change has unbeatable advantages, then you should definitely ensure that you have valid redirects in place. Permanent, so-called301 redirects automaticallysendyour visitors to the correct new URL.
In addition, you will retain existing rankings that you have achieved through your valuable and relevant content. This also helps you avoid unintended "404 errors" that users encounter when they come across an unknown URL. Such displays ultimately result ina loss of traffic.
Avoid unnecessary parameters
Parameters such as thesessionortracking IDfollowingthe actual address may be useful for the functionality of your web design. However, you should refrain from embedding them in URLs.Otherwise,such confusing andirrelevant parameters will also be shared when linking. Anyone who opens backlinks, favorites, or other shared links stored in this way may end up at a dead end. SEO and users cannot do anything with them. Therefore, parameters only unnecessarily lengthen your URL and reduce its readability.
3. Active support for everything related to SEO
Any questions? At taismo, wealsoadvise on theoptimal structureof yourwebsite as part ofour results-oriented online marketing services.