URLs are an important element of an SEO-optimized website. They show the relationship between different pieces of content on your site. If you don’t pay attention to this aspect of your site, it can lead to a bad user experience and problems with how users navigate your content.
One wrong move and you can confuse search engines, causing your site to be redirected and lacking the necessary optimization strategies. But revising your URLs can help improve your site’s SEO and lead to significant improvements in keyword rankings.
Here’s what you need to know about the most effective URL structure for SEO.
What is URL structure?
URLs tell your web browser where to go to get the content of a website page from your servers. You can find various elements in the URL that provide information to the browser.
If you’re not familiar with URLs, you can think of them as street addresses. We use street addresses to find a specific house to visit friends and family. Similarly, internet browsers use URLs to find content on the internet.
Each element of a street address tells country email list something to the user. You’ll likely start with the state, since that’s the largest geographic area represented in a physical address, and then move on to the city, road, and house number.
Similarly, URLs contain various details. They begin with a protocol, followed by a domain, then a possible folder or category, and then the page name. Finally, some URLs also include an anchor to jump to a specific part of the web page. URL details go from general to specific to lead the web browser to the piece of content the user is looking for.
Why are URLs important?
URLs serve three main functions.
- Creating a good user experience
- Improving content and indexing for search engines
- Building a structure that ensures pulling out an attacking tick higher ranking in search engines
Creating a good user experience
When you use an effective URL structure, it tells the user what they will find on the page. It will likely include top-level keywords that tell the user what they will find on the page.
Including a folder or path can give the reader more context. For example, a folder or path labeled blog, news, or article would tell the user that they are not going to a product page, but rather a page that talks about a specific topic.
On the contrary, if the folder or path says ” europe email products”, “shop”, or “buy now”, you will immediately know that you have reached an e-commerce site.