In this article we have featured Are Keywords In URLs A Ranking Factor in Google? The short answer is no. As of September 2019, Google confirmed that they do not use the keywords in URLs as a ranking factor.
But that doesn’t mean that the keywords in your URL are completely worthless. Here’s what you need to know about keywords in URLs and how they can still help your SEO efforts.
What is a URL?
A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the address of a specific web page or file on the internet. URLs consist of multiple parts, including a protocol (HTTP:// or HTTPS://), a domain name (www.example.com), and sometimes a path or directory (/blog/).
Why Google Doesn’t Use Keywords In URLs As A Ranking Factor
Google’s John Mueller stated in a webmaster hangout (around the 2:15 mark) that they “try not to look at specific words [in the URL] because often, people stuff keywords into those places and sometimes for legitimate reasons. Sometimes it’s just to kind of game the system a little bit.”
Essentially, what Mueller is saying is that Google has been burned too many times by people keyword-stuffing their URLs in an attempt to rank higher. So, they don’t put as much weight on those keywords as they used to.
In addition, according to Mueller, “URLs are one of those things where it often makes sense to keep them as simple as possible, just because especially if you have a lot of parameters and things like that, sometimes it can get really confusing for users to see all of these different pieces in the URL, And from our point of view for search also, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what exactly these pages are about when we see all these different parameters.”
So, while keywords in URLs aren’t a ranking factor, there are still some benefits to including them—as long as you don’t go overboard with keyword stuffing. Here are a few benefits of including keywords in your URL:
–They Can Help Users Understand What The Page Is About At A Glance.
–They Can Be Used As Anchor Text When Linking To Your Page Internally.
–They Can Help Your Click-Through Rates If They Contain The Keyword That Someone Searched For.
–They Can Give Search Engines More Context About The Content On The Page
Why is URL Structure Important?
A website’s URL structure is important because it can affect a site’s search engine rankings and usability. A well-organized website with a good URL structure is easier for users to navigate and for search engines to crawl and index. A well-organized website is also more likely to be user-friendly, which can lead to higher conversion rates.
How to Optimize Your URL Structure?
There are several factors to consider when optimizing your URL structure, including length, keywords, readability, and hierarchy.
1. Keep URLs short and concise. Shorter URLs are easier for users to remember and are less likely to be typed incorrectly. They’re also easier for search engines to index and crawl.
2. Use keyword-rich URLs. Keywords in URLs can help improve a website’s search engine rankings. However, don’t stuff keywords into your URLs in an attempt to manipulate your site’s ranking—this can actually hurt your ranking instead of helping it.
3. Make URLs readable and easy to understand. Users should be able to look at a URL and know what content they will find on the corresponding page. This means using words instead of numbers or abbreviations whenever possible.
4. Use a consistent hierarchy in your URLs. Creating a consistent hierarchy makes it easier for both users and search engines to understand the organization of your website’s content.
5. Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) in your URLs. Hyphens are considered word separators while underscores are not, which can make URLs difficult to read and understand.
6. Avoid using special characters in your URLs whenever possible. Special characters can make URLs difficult to remember and type correctly. If you must use special characters, limit them to hyphens (-), periods ( . ), and underscores ( _ ).
What Makes a Good URL?
A good URL should be short, descriptive, and easy to read. It should contain keywords that are relevant to the content on the page. A good URL structure looks like this: www.example.com/category/keyword.
The first part of the URL, www.example.com, is the domain name. The second part, /category/, is the category or section of the website where the page is located. The final part, /keyword/, is the specific keyword or phrase that describes the page content.
How Does URL Structure Affect SEO?
Search engines use URLs to understand the structure of your website and to index your pages properly. A well-structured URL makes it easier for search engines to crawl your website and understand its content.
This can lead to higher rankings in search results and more traffic to your website. Additionally, a well-structured URL is more likely to be clicked on by users when it appears in search results because it is easy to read and understand.
Also, Read:
- How to Optimize Your Meta Description & Meta Keywords for SEO Success
- Role of Long Tail Keywords in Todays SEO and How to Use them?
- How to Effectively Use Long Tail Keywords To Get Traffic on Your Blog
- How to Optimize Your Website’s Heading Tags for SEO
Conclusion:
While keywords in URLs aren’t a ranking factor, there are still some benefits to including them—as long as you don’t go overboard with keyword stuffing. Choose your words wisely and make sure that your URL accurately reflects the content on the page to avoid any confusion for both users and search engines.
