Headline: SEO-Friendly URL Structures: The Do’s and Don’ts for Higher Rankings

What Makes a URL SEO-Friendly? 

An SEO-friendly website URL is simple, readable, and includes relevant keywords to help both users and search engines understand its content. It’s about more than simply appearing presentable; it’s also about increasing click-through rates, raising rankings, and improving the user experience.

Here’s an example of a well-structured URL:

www.example.com/seo-friendly-url-structures

A poor URL illustration:

www.example.com/page?id=12783&ref=abc123

When building URLs that are SEO-friendly, let’s examine what to do and what to avoid.

• Keep your URLs simple and concise.
• Less is more.
• Short URLs are more user-friendly, simpler to share, and easier to read. They appear neater on mobile displays and lessen the likelihood of broken links.

Example:

www.brand.com/digital-marketing-tips

Avoid:

www.brand.com/how-to-do-digital-marketing-in-2025-for-beginners-guide

Pro Tip: Keep it between three and five words. It’s likely too long to be your URL if it seems like it would take too long to pronounce.

Include your target keyword.

Clarity is favoured by search engines. Google comprehends your page better when your primary term is included in your URL.

Example:

• Use the following if your keyword is *SEO-Friendly URL Structures*:
• www.yoursite.com/seo-friendly-url-structures
• Additionally, this increases user confidence and enhances click-through rates from search results.

Use hyphens to divide words.

• Using hyphens (“-‘) rather than underscores (“_’) is what Google advises. Since search engines interpret hyphens as word separators, using them in URLs improves readability
• www.site.com/seo-tools-guide
• At www.site.com/seo_tools_guide

Use lowercase letters.

• After the domain name, URLs are case-sensitive. Therefore, using lowercase letters helps prevent replication and misunderstanding.
• www.example.com/seo-checklist
• You can access the unique page at www.example.com/SEO-Checklist.

Avoid: Keyword Stuffing

• Using too many keywords in a URL can seem like spam and may discourage users from clicking.
• www.site.com/seo-url-structure-seo-guide-seo-tools-seo-tips
• Keep it simple. Use the keyword just once and make it count.

Don’t use special characters or numbers.

• URLs are made complicated and difficult to remember by characters like `&`, `%`, `@`, and random numbers. Furthermore, they seem dubious.
• www.site.com/page?id=1234&%#@ref=xyz
• Use simple terms:
  www.site.com/blog-writing-tips

Don’t use stop words.

• The addition of words like *and*, *the*, *a*, and *of* is frequently superfluous. It is preferable to skip them unless they are essential to the meaning.
• ❌ `www.site.com/the-basics-of-seo`
  ✅ www.site.com/seo-basics
• Ensure the URLs reflect the content of the page, but avoid using the exact title word-for-word
• When your blog’s name is:
  “10 Smart Ways to Craft SEO-Optimized URLs in 2025”
  
  You can use the following as your URL:
  “www.site.com/seo-friendly-urls-2025”
• It’s brief, pertinent, and nevertheless captures the ideal keyword.

Avoid modifying URLs after publishing (without redirects).

Changing a URL after it has gone live and been indexed by Google might harm your SEO, unless you utilize a valid **301 redirect** to inform search engines of the location of the new page.

Pro tip: Before publishing, make sure your URLs are complete and well-planned.

Are you prepared to advance your SEO abilities?

Join the **SEO Certification Program at Srishti Innovative**, which is led by the **Team Inspire**. This practical course covers the most recent SEO techniques, tools, and real-world applications, such as URL optimization, content strategy, technical SEO, and more, regardless of whether you are a novice or seeking to improve your digital marketing skills.