Every page on your website has its own address, or URL. Most people never think about it until a link looks messy in an email or a search result. A little planning before you build pages saves trouble later. Clear URLs are easier to read, share and remember.
Google publishes guidance on how it prefers URLs to be built. Much of it is simple and fits any small business site. This post walks through the main points in plain terms. It also covers what to do if you need to change a URL that already exists.
What makes a URL readable
Google’s URL structure best practices recommend descriptive URLs that use readable words instead of long ID numbers. Its example compares a short path ending in a single topic word with a long string of numbers and letters. The short version tells a person what to expect before they open the page. For a business site, that usually means the service name or the post topic.
Google also suggests using the words your audience uses. For an Australian business, that means local spelling and the terms customers actually type into search. A page about kitchen renovations might sit at /kitchen-renovations/ rather than /services/page-id-4471/. Short and plain usually beats clever.
Hyphens, not underscores
Separating words properly matters more than many people realise. Google recommends hyphens between words in a URL. It discourages underscores, partly because programming languages often use them to join terms. It also advises against running words together with no separator at all.
So /garden-lighting/ is better than /garden_lighting/ or /gardenlighting/. Most website platforms add hyphens automatically when they create a slug from a page title. It still pays to check, especially on pages added by a plugin or imported from an old site. If you build on WordPress, our roundup of WordPress web design plugins covers some popular tools for building and managing a site.
Upper case and lower case
Case is an easy detail to miss. Google treats /APPLE and /apple as two different URLs. If your server shows the same page for both, Google suggests converting all URLs to one case. Lower case throughout is the simplest habit to keep.
Keep parameters to a minimum
Parameters are the extra bits after a question mark in a URL. Online stores and booking systems often add them for sorting, filtering or tracking. Google recommends using as few parameters as possible and removing any that don’t change the content. Where they are needed, it suggests the common format of key=value pairs joined with an ampersand.
Too many URL variations can cause real problems. Google notes that sorting, referral and session ID parameters can create duplicate URLs for the same content. Combining filters can multiply near identical list pages. This can waste crawling time or stop Google indexing all of your content.
Session IDs and fragments
Google suggests using cookies instead of session IDs in URLs where possible. It also says it generally doesn’t support fragments, the part after a # symbol, for changing page content. If a page loads different content through JavaScript, the History API is the recommended approach. Your web developer can check this if your site relies on a lot of scripts.
Structure that matches your site
A URL can also show where a page sits on your site. Grouping blog posts under /blog/ and services under /services/ helps visitors see the layout at a glance. Keep the structure shallow and avoid stacking folder after folder. A simple structure is also easier to maintain as the site grows.
Good URLs suit every screen size. Long, messy addresses are hard to read on a phone or in a messaging app. This fits with the reasons for using a responsive website, where every part of the site works on small screens. Clean URLs are a small part of that bigger picture.
Pages for suburbs and service areas
Many local businesses have pages for each suburb or city they serve. A plain path that names the service and the area, such as /plumber-fremantle/, is easy to read. Each page should still offer real, useful content for that area. Our post on the difference between cheap and value in local SEO explains why quality matters more than volume.
Changing a URL that already exists
Sometimes a URL has to change. A service gets renamed, or an old page uses a messy address you want to fix. Changing it without a plan breaks every link that points to the old address. Search engines and visitors who arrive there may find an error page instead.
The fix is a permanent redirect from the old URL to the new one. Google’s guide to redirects and Google Search explains that 301 and 308 status codes mean a page has permanently moved. Google uses a permanent redirect as a signal that the target should be the canonical URL. It recommends a permanent server side redirect whenever possible.
Only use a permanent redirect when you are sure the change won’t be reversed. Google lists meta refresh as a fallback when server side redirects aren’t possible. JavaScript redirects are a last resort, because Google may not always see them. On WordPress, a redirect plugin is a common way to manage this. Update your own internal links so they point straight to the new address too.
A simple checklist before you publish
Run through these points for each new page. They take a minute and prevent most URL problems. Fix them before the page goes live, since changing a URL later means setting up redirects.
- Use a few readable words that describe the page.
- Separate words with hyphens.
- Keep everything in lower case.
- Leave out dates, ID numbers and extra parameters unless they are needed.
- Check the URL still reads well when pasted into an email or message.
If some of the terms here are unfamiliar, our guide to common SEO terms and their meaning covers the basics. URLs are one of the first things people see in a search result. Getting them right from the start is far easier than fixing them later.
Frequently asked questions
Should a URL include keywords?
Google recommends descriptive URLs with readable words your audience would use. In practice that means the main topic of the page. There is no need to repeat keywords or make the URL long.
Are underscores bad in URLs?
Google recommends hyphens instead of underscores to separate words. Hyphens make word boundaries clear to both people and search engines. If your existing URLs use underscores, weigh up the work of setting redirects before changing them.
Does URL case matter?
Yes, it can. Google treats upper case and lower case paths as different URLs. Using lower case everywhere avoids accidental duplicates.
What happens if I change a page’s URL?
Links to the old address will break unless you set up a redirect. Google recommends a permanent server side redirect, such as a 301, when the move is final. Update your internal links to the new address at the same time.
