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Best practices for URL structure SEO

URLs are a fundamental component of your website’s technical SEO framework. They influence how search engines crawl your site, how users perceive your content, and ultimately impact your search rankings. Optimizing your URL structure remains a critical yet often overlooked aspect of comprehensive SEO strategy.

What is URL structure?

URL structure refers to how your website’s addresses are organized and formatted. A well-structured URL provides clear information about page content and site hierarchy to both users and search engines.

A 3D cartoon-style green gecko character sits at a desk, smiling, and points at a large browser window displaying a clean URL like 'example.com/seo-best-practices' in neon orange text. The background features a soft light blue-to-purple gradient. Additional cluttered URLs with slashes, parameters, and symbols are crossed out in the background, also in neon orange.

For example:

https://example.com/category/subcategory/page-name

This structure communicates the page’s position within the site hierarchy and helps search engines understand content relationships. While seemingly simple, these organizational decisions have meaningful impacts on both search visibility and user experience.

Why URL structure matters for SEO

Crawl efficiency

Google prioritizes URLs with clear structures and minimal parameters. According to Google Search Central, complex URLs with session IDs and unnecessary parameters can waste crawl budget and create duplicate content issues. When search engines have limited time to crawl your site, simplified URL structures ensure they focus on your most valuable content rather than getting trapped in URL parameter loops.

User experience

Descriptive URLs improve click-through rates in search results. Users are more likely to click on URLs that clearly indicate what content they’ll find, which indirectly boosts SEO performance. Consider your own behavior when evaluating search results—a clean, descriptive URL serves as an additional trust signal that confirms the page’s relevance to your query.

Keyword relevance

Strategic keyword placement in URLs sends relevance signals to search engines. Including your primary keyword near the beginning of the URL can strengthen topical relevance. This positioning reinforces what your page is about and creates consistency between your title tags, headings, and URL structure—all factors that help search engines understand your content’s focus.

12 SEO best practices for URLs

1. Use HTTPS protocol

Secure websites are favored by Google and create trust with users. Ensure your entire site uses HTTPS. Beyond being a direct ranking factor, the security protocol also prevents browser warnings that can increase bounce rates and damage user trust.

2. Keep URLs short and descriptive

Aim for URLs under 60 characters to improve readability and mobile optimization. Compare:

Effective: example.com/seo-tips Ineffective: example.com/category/324543/seo-tips

Shorter URLs are easier to share, less prone to breaking in emails, and generally provide a better user experience. They’re also more likely to display completely in search results without truncation.

3. Include target keywords early

Place your primary keyword as close to the domain as possible:

Effective: example.com/seo-friendly-url-structure Ineffective: example.com/blog/2024/january/tips-for-seo-friendly-url-structure

Front-loading keywords in URLs provides an immediate signal to both users and search engines about the page’s content focus. This placement carries more weight than keywords positioned later in the URL string.

4. Use hyphens to separate words

Hyphens are the standard word separator for URLs. Avoid underscores, spaces, or other characters.

Effective: example.com/seo-best-practices Ineffective: example.com/seo_best_practices

Google specifically recommends hyphens over underscores because search engines interpret hyphens as word separators, while underscores may be treated as connecting words together.

5. Use lowercase letters consistently

URLs are case-sensitive, and inconsistent capitalization can create duplicate content issues. Standardize on lowercase. This seemingly minor technical detail can prevent content duplication problems where search engines may index multiple versions of the same page (e.g., /Page-Name and /page-name could be treated as different URLs).

6. Create logical hierarchies

Implement a shallow, logical URL hierarchy that reflects your site structure:

Effective: /products/electronics/smartphones Ineffective: /products/department5/subcategory12/item47

Logical hierarchies help both users and search engines understand the relationship between pages. They also facilitate better internal linking and site navigation, contributing to improved crawlability.

A group of rounded green gecko characters gather around a neon orange flowchart showing site hierarchy: starting from 'Home', branching to 'Categories', then to 'Subcategories', and finally to 'Page-name'—all in neon orange. Each gecko holds a sign with correct URL formats. Background is a light blue-to-purple gradient.

7. Avoid unnecessary parameters and session IDs

Parameters like session IDs create duplicate content and waste crawl budget. Use cookies instead for tracking user sessions. If parameters are necessary for functionality, configure them properly in Google Search Console to prevent indexing issues.

As Google Search Central explains, session IDs can cause search engines to waste time crawling what appears to be unique pages but are actually duplicate content with different IDs.

8. Remove stop words when possible

Eliminate articles and prepositions (a, the, and, or) unless they’re essential for readability.

Effective: example.com/seo-url-structure Ineffective: example.com/the-best-seo-and-url-structure-guide

This practice keeps URLs concise while retaining meaning. However, if removing stop words makes the URL confusing or changes its meaning, prioritize clarity over brevity.

9. Create consistent URL patterns

Maintain consistent URL patterns across similar content types to help search engines understand your site structure. For example, all blog posts should follow the same format, as should product pages, category pages, etc. This consistency creates predictability that improves crawlability and indexing.

10. Implement proper redirects for old URLs

When changing URLs, always implement 301 redirects from old to new URLs to preserve link equity and prevent 404 errors. This is particularly important when redesigning a site or migrating to a new CMS. Proper redirects maintain your SEO value and ensure users aren’t met with error pages when following older links.

11. Consider removing dates from blog post URLs

Dated URLs can make content seem outdated. Consider using evergreen URL structures for timeless content.

Effective: example.com/voice-search-seo Ineffective: example.com/2024/01/15/voice-search-seo-guide

As noted by Collaborada, dateless URLs maintain relevance over time and don’t require redirects when content is updated. This approach is particularly valuable for cornerstone content that you plan to keep current through regular updates.

12. Use canonical tags for duplicate URLs

For pages that must exist under multiple URLs, implement canonical tags to indicate the preferred version. This is common in e-commerce sites where products might appear under multiple categories but should consolidate SEO value to a single canonical URL.

Special considerations for different site types

Ecommerce sites

According to Google’s ecommerce guidelines, prioritize product attributes over categories:

Effective: /products/brand/model Ineffective: /catalog/items?product_id=1234

E-commerce sites benefit from descriptive product URLs that include key attributes rather than numeric IDs. This approach improves user understanding and creates more opportunities for keyword inclusion without appearing forced.

Multi-location businesses

Type B structures are preferred for multi-location businesses to improve local SEO:

Effective: /locations/new-york/services Ineffective: /services/service-name?location=new-york

This structure, discussed in local SEO forums, creates clearer location hierarchies that better support local search rankings. It also scales more effectively as new locations are added.

Implementation tips

  1. Audit existing URLs first before making wholesale changes
  2. Plan your hierarchy based on your site structure and user journeys
  3. Use a URL rewriting tool if your CMS generates non-optimal URLs
  4. Implement proper redirects when changing existing URLs
  5. Document your URL structure in your technical SEO guidelines

Using a platform like contentgecko can help ensure your content strategy aligns with best practices for URL structure, enhancing your overall SEO performance through consistent implementation across your site. Content strategy and URL structure should work together—as you map out your content plan, defining URL conventions early ensures consistency across new pages.

TL;DR

SEO-friendly URLs should be secure, short, descriptive, and hierarchical. Use hyphens to separate words, include keywords early, maintain consistent patterns, and implement proper redirects when making changes. Different site types require specialized approaches, but all benefit from logical, user-friendly URL structures that enhance both search engine crawlability and user experience.