permalinks seo

Guide To SEO-Friendly URLs (Permalinks)

Byriordanseoteam

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), every single detail can make a difference. One of those details is the URL structure of your website. A well-designed URL not only helps search engines understand the content of your page, but it also makes your website more user-friendly. SEO-friendly URLs, or permalinks, are essential to any successful on page SEO strategy.

What are permalinks and why are they important?

Contents

Permalinks are the permanent URLs that point to your website’s individual pages, posts, and other content. They are called permalinks because they don’t change and remain constant over time. Permalinks are important for SEO because they provide a clear and concise way of identifying the content of your website. Search engines use permalinks to understand the relevance of your content to a particular search query.

Permalinks are also crucial for user experience. A well-designed URL is easy to read, understand and remember. It helps users navigate your website and find the content they seek. Permalinks also help users to share their content on social media platforms.

The elements of an SEO-friendly URL

An SEO-friendly URL consists of several elements that provide information about the content of your page. These elements include:

  1. Domain name: This is the name of your website. It should be short, memorable and easy to spell.
  2. Top-level domain (TLD): This is the extension at the end of your domain name such as .com, .org or .net. It should be relevant to the content of your website.
  3. Subdirectory: This is the folder or subdirectory where your content is located. It should be relevant to the content of your page.
  4. Page name: This is the name of your page or post. It should be descriptive and relevant to the content of your page.
  5. Slug: This is the part of the URL that comes after the page name. It should be short, descriptive and relevant to the content of your page.

A well-structured URL should be easy to read and understand. It should provide information about the content of your page in a clear and concise way.

How to make SEO-friendly URLs on WordPress

WordPress is one of the world’s most popular content management systems (CMS). It is widely used by bloggers, businesses, and organizations to create websites. WordPress provides several options for creating SEO-friendly URLs.

  1. Permalink settings: WordPress provides a simple way to customize your permalink structure. You can access the permalink settings by going to Settings > Permalinks. Here you can choose from several permalink structures or create your own custom structure.
  2. Page and post URLs: When you create a new page or post in WordPress, the URL is automatically generated based on the title of your page or post. You can edit the slug to include relevant keywords to make it more SEO-friendly.
  3. Category and tag URLs: WordPress allows you to create categories and tags for your content. Each category and tag has its own URL. You can edit the slug to include relevant keywords to make these URLs more SEO-friendly.

How to make SEO-friendly URLs on Shopify

Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform that allows you to create an online store. It provides several options for creating SEO-friendly URLs.

  1. URL structure: Shopify provides a default URL structure that includes the product name in the URL. You can customize the URL structure by going to Settings > General > Search engine listing preview to make it more SEO-friendly.
  2. Product URLs: When you create a new product in Shopify, the URL is automatically generated based on the product name. You can edit the URL to include relevant keywords to make it more SEO-friendly.
  3. Collection URLs: Shopify allows you to create collections of products. Each collection has its own URL. To make these URLs more SEO-friendly, you can edit the URL to include relevant keywords.

How to make SEO-friendly URLs on Joomla

Joomla is a popular CMS that allows you to create websites and web applications. It provides several options for creating SEO-friendly URLs.

  1. SEO settings: Joomla provides a built-in SEO component that allows you to customize your URL structure. You can access the SEO settings by going to System > Global Configuration > SEO settings.
  2. Article URLs: When creating a new article in Joomla, the URL is automatically generated based on the title. You can edit the URL to include relevant keywords to make it more SEO-friendly.
  3. Category URLs: Joomla allows you to create categories for your articles. Each category has its own URL. To make these URLs more SEO-friendly, you can edit the URL to include relevant keywords.

How to set SEO-friendly URLs on WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It provides several options for creating SEO-friendly URLs.

  1. Permalink settings: WooCommerce provides a simple way to customize your permalink structure. You can access the permalink settings by going to WooCommerce > Settings > Permalinks.
  2. Product URLs: When you create a new product in WooCommerce, the URL is automatically generated based on the product name. You can edit the URL to include relevant keywords to make it more SEO-friendly. Please keep them in a folder such as /products/.
  3. Category URLs: WooCommerce allows you to create categories for your products. Each category has its own URL. To make these URLs more SEO-friendly, you can edit the URL to include relevant keywords.

Advanced tips for creating SEO-friendly URLs

Here are some advanced tips for creating SEO-friendly URLs:

  1. Use hyphens: Use hyphens to separate words in your URL. Avoid using underscores or spaces as these can cause problems with search engines.
  2. Keep it short and simple: Keep your URLs short and simple. Avoid using long URLs that are difficult to read and remember.
  3. Include keywords: Include relevant keywords in your URL. This will help search engines to understand the content of your page.
  4. Avoid stop words: Avoid using stop words such as “a”, “an”, “and”, “the”, etc. These words don’t add any value to your URL and can make it difficult to read.
  5. Avoid using session IDs: Avoid using session IDs in your URLs. These can cause search engine problems and make your URLs look messy.

Best practices for optimising URLs for SEO

Here are some best practices for optimizing URLs for SEO:

  1. Use HTTPS: Use HTTPS to secure your website. This will help to improve your website’s search engine rankings.
  2. Use canonical URLs: Use canonical URLs to avoid duplicate content issues. This will help search engines to understand the content of your website.
  3. Avoid URL parameters: Avoid using URL parameters as they can cause problems with search engines.
  4. Use descriptive URLs: Use descriptive URLs that accurately describe the content of your page.
  5. Avoid changing URLs: Avoid changing your URLs as this can cause problems with search engines. If you need to change your URLs, use 301 redirects to redirect traffic to the new URLs.

Conclusion

SEO-friendly URLs are an essential part of any successful SEO strategy. They provide a clear and concise way of identifying the content of your website. A well-designed URL can help to improve your website’s search engine rankings and user experience.

By following the tips and best practices outlined in this guide, you can create SEO-friendly URLs to help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

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