URL Structure

What is URL Structure?

In the SEO industry, URL structure refers to how web addresses are organized to ensure they are user-friendly and optimized for search engines. A well-structured URL is crucial for providing both search engines and users with clear information about the page's content. Proper URL structure can improve search engine rankings and make it easier for users to navigate a website. Elements like keyword inclusion, readability, and hierarchy play important roles in an effective URL structure. For instance, shorter and descriptive URLs are generally preferred over long and complicated ones. Including relevant keywords in a URL can also enhance its SEO value. A good URL structure is hierarchical, reflecting the site's architecture and making it easier for search engines to crawl and index the content.

The arrangement and organization of the different components of a URL, including the protocol, domain, path, query parameters, and fragments.

Examples

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/technology/seo-tips.html: This URL is well-structured, indicating that the content is an SEO tips article published on October 14, 2023, in the technology section of The New York Times.

https://www.example.com/products/electronics/laptops: This URL clearly indicates the path to the 'laptops' category within the 'electronics' section under 'products,' making it user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Additional Information

A good URL structure should avoid unnecessary parameters and include hyphens to separate words for better readability.

URLs should be kept as short as possible while still providing necessary context and keywords.

References

How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs - Backlinko

URL structure best practices for Google - Google Developers

15 SEO Best Practices for Structuring URLs - Moz