Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex process that requires attention to several elements. One of these is the URL structure, which gives search engines an idea of what your page is about.
An unoptimized URL contains no relevant keywords or valuable information. For example, a URL like “www.example.com/en-EN/756379” says nothing about the page’s content, making it unattractive and confusing.
When you optimize this URL correctly, you give your users vital clues that help them understand your content. This blog post will explain how to achieve a search engine-friendly URL. But firstโฆ
What Is a URL?
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address that identifies a specific web page on the Internet and consists of several parts, such as the domain name and the path or slug that follows it.
Just as every home or business has a physical address to send you something in the mail, on the Internet, every resource also has an associated address, which is necessary to access your data and information.
Structure of a URL
A URL is composed of several parts, including a network protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP), which is the one that heads the address and indicates what type of connection it should make.
It is also composed of the sequence “www,” which is the online information support, as well as the domain, which is the name of the company or project that provides the information; also the type of the service supplied (.com), (.org), (.net), and the country to which it belongs: Colombia (.co), Argentina (.ar), Brazil (.br).
Finally, the path and file name are the folders and directories where the specific resource that provides the information is located.
Steps to Optimize the SEO of a URL
Use Relevant Keywords
The first step is to thoroughly research relevant keywords for your URL through tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs.
Once you have identified the main keyword, include it preferably near the beginning, and be concise without losing coherence between the content and the URL. Avoid creating long and complex addresses that do not make sense.
Use keywords sparingly, as this can look unnatural and lead to penalties by search engines.
Use Hyphens to Separate Words
This is because search engines treat hyphens (-) as spaces between individual words, making the URL cleaner and more accessible for users to read.
In that sense, avoid using dynamic parameters such as question marks, spaces, apostrophes, underscores, numbers, and complicated codes, among other characters, as they make it difficult for search engines to understand your content and can also affect the loading speed of your web page.
For example, if your URL is “www.example.com/”123+cat-dog*”, it is very likely that you will not appear in the top positions of search engines compared to a similar but clean URL like the one you see below: “www.example.com/cat-care.”
Include Only Essential Information
When creating URLs, include only essential information that describes the specific content. Avoid having unnecessary data such as “and,” “the,” “to,” “in,” or “of.” These additional words can lengthen the URL and, in turn, add no value.
Use Canonical Urls
First, it is essential to define what canonical URLs are. In simple terms, these URLs point to the most accurate version of a web page.
Canonical URLs are essential because, by default, search engines may index several variants of the same page, which can generate duplicate content and reduce the quality of the web page.
They tell the search engine, which is the preferred version of the web page, helping to ensure that only one URL is indexed and eliminating the possibility of duplicate content.
Imagine you have a page called “Product X.” If, over time, you have generated several URLs for this page, such as www.mysite.com/product-x, www.mysite.com/en/product-x, or www.mysite.com/product-x.htm, search engines may see them as duplicate content.
Search engines will not know which version to index, which may cause users to find several pages with the same information.
If you use a canonical URL, tell the search engine which is the main version and avoid the problem of duplicate content.
Avoid this problem by opting for one of these three solutions:
- Implements a server redirect that presents users with a single canonical URL.
- Add a canonical tag to each existing URL, clearly indicating which URL is the primary URL.
- Use Google WebMaster Tools to define the primary subdomain.
Comparison Between Optimized and Non-optimized Urls
For example, an optimized URL for an article titled “Best places to travel in summer” could be www.mysite.com/best-places-for-summer. This helps users identify the content and helps search engines understand the context of the website.
A non-optimized URL for the same article on “Best places to travel in summer” could be www.mysite.com/p=1237, which does not provide a clear description of the content for users and does not help search engines understand the content of the website.
How to Submit a URL to Google
Step 1: Create a Google Search Console Account
To submit URLs to Google, you must have access to the Google Search Console tool. If you still need to get a Search Console account, you’ll need to create one before you begin.
Go to the tool’s home page, click “Get Started,” and follow the instructions to register your website.
Step 2: Add Your Website to the Search Console
Once you have created a Google Search Console account, you must add your website to the tool. Click “Add Property” on the main page and follow the instructions to verify your website’s ownership.
Step 3: Submit a URL to Google
Once you have verified your website’s ownership, you can submit URLs to Google. To do this, click “Inspect any URL” on the Search Console home page and type in the URL you wish to raise.
Click “Submit for indexing” and wait for the request to be processed. Google will crawl your website and add the URL to its index so that it will appear in searches.
Step 4: Check the Status of Your URLs
After submitting your URLs to Google, you can check their status in Google Search Console. If the URL was accepted, the label “Indexed” appears next to the URL on the “Indexing Status” page.
If the URL was not accepted, review the error messages on the “Coverage” page and make any necessary corrections before resubmitting the URL.
Step 5: Add a Sitemap to the Google Search Console
In addition to submitting individual URLs to Google, you can also submit a Sitemap. A Sitemap is a file that contains a complete list of all pages on your website.
To submit a Sitemap, you can use an online tool such as XML Sitemap Generator to create and add the file to Google Search Console.
Final Tips
Track changes and performance of your URLs using analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console.
Stay current on SEO best practices and make periodic adjustments to improve the visibility of your URLs in search engines.
