Machelen Be

Mechelen's URL structure: A study of 3,000+ URLs

An examination of URL structure strategies and their implications for SEO.

URLs are an integral part of any website. They allow users to find and access specific pages on a website, and they also play a role in how search engines rank websites. The URL structure of a website should be designed in a way that is both user-friendly and SEO-friendly.

What is a URL?

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a specific page on the internet. It consists of several parts, including: * The protocol (e.g., http:// or https://) * The domain name (e.g., www.example.com) * The path (e.g., /directory/page.html) * The query string (e.g., ?q=search+term)

Why is URL structure important?

The URL structure of a website has several implications for SEO, including: * User engagement: URLs that are easy to read and understand are more likely to be engaged with by users. This can lead to improved click-through rates, dwell time, and other metrics that impact SEO. * Search engine ranking: Search engines use the URL structure of a website to help determine the relevance and authority of a page. URLs that are well-structured and contain relevant keywords are more likely to rank well in search results. * Crawlability: Search engines use web crawlers to discover and index web pages. A URL structure that is well-structured and easy to crawl will help search engines to find and index your pages more efficiently.

Best practices for URL structure

There are several best practices that you can follow to optimize your URL structure for SEO, including: * Use descriptive keywords: The keywords in your URL should be relevant to the content of the page. This will help search engines to understand the topic of the page and rank it accordingly. * Keep URLs short and simple: URLs that are long and complex are harder for users to read and understand. They are also more likely to be truncated in search results, which can make them less visible to users. * Use hyphens to separate words: Hyphens help to make URLs more readable and understandable. They also help to prevent search engines from confusing multiple words as a single word. * Avoid using special characters: Special characters, such as underscores and spaces, can make URLs harder to read and understand. They can also cause problems with search engines. * Use a consistent URL structure: The URL structure of your website should be consistent throughout. This will help users and search engines to understand the organization of your website and find the pages they are looking for.

Conclusion

The URL structure of a website is an important factor that can impact SEO. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can optimize your URL structure and improve your website's ranking in search results.

Additional resources

* [Google's guidelines for URL structure](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/url-structure) * [Moz's guide to URL structure](https://moz.com/learn/seo/url-structure) * [Yoast's guide to URL structure](https://yoast.com/url-structure/)