Key Takeaways:

• Short, descriptive URLs with relevant keywords tend to rank better
• Hyphens separate words, lowercase is standard
• Once set, URLs should not be changed without redirects

The URL is the first thing Google sees of a page. It appears in search results, gets shared on social media, and is often unconsciously evaluated by users. A clear URL structure is the foundation of good technical SEO.

Many CMS generate URLs automatically – and often poorly. Endless strings with parameters, categories, and dates make URLs unreadable. With a few adjustments, you can change that.

What Makes a Good URL

An optimal URL is short, descriptive, and contains the main keyword. It gives users a hint about the page content before they click.

Comparison: Good and Bad URLs

The first URL in each row reveals nothing about the content. The second is self-explanatory. Google and users immediately understand what it's about.

Technical Ground Rules

Stick to proven conventions:

Use lowercase: URLs can be case-sensitive. example.com/Page and example.com/page could count as different pages. Stay consistent with lowercase.

Hyphens as separators: Google reads hyphens as spaces. seo-basics is understood as "seo basics." Underscores don't work that way.

No special characters: Umlauts, spaces, and special characters get encoded in URLs and look ugly. "ö" becomes "%C3%B6." Better: use oe or English terms.

Use HTTPS: A ranking factor for years. If your website still runs on HTTP, that's a problem.

URL Depth and Hierarchy

Flat URLs tend to be better. The shorter the path to a page, the more weight Google gives it.

A URL like /shoes/running-shoes/nike-air-max signals a clear hierarchy. The page belongs to the Running Shoes category, which belongs to the Shoes category.

But don't overdo the nesting:

/shop/products/mens/shoes/sports/running/nike/air-max-2025-black

That's too deep. Better:

/mens-running-shoes/nike-air-max-2025

Every level in the URL should serve a real purpose. If you have levels only for organizational reasons, reconsider the structure.

Keywords in URLs

The main keyword should appear in the URL. But naturally and without over-optimization.

For an article about meta tags, a URL like /blog/meta-tags-optimization is ideal. The keyword is included, the URL stays short and readable.

Avoid keyword stuffing:

/seo-tips-seo-tricks-seo-guide-seo-2025-seo-tutorial

That looks spammy and can actually hurt. One to two keywords per URL is enough.

Handling URL Changes Properly

Once published, URLs should not be changed lightly. Every URL accumulates backlinks, shares, and ranking signals over time. Change the URL, and these are lost.

If a change is unavoidable:

1. Set up 301 redirect: Automatically forwards visitors and search engines to the new URL
2. Update internal links: Adjust all links to the new URL
3. Update sitemap: Remove the old URL, add the new one
4. Monitor Search Console: Watch for potential indexing issues

A 301 redirect transfers most of the link power to the new URL. Still, some loss is possible. Only change URLs when truly necessary.

Trailing Slash: With or Without?

The question of whether URLs should end with a slash (/page/ vs. /page) concerns many. The answer: It doesn't matter – as long as you stay consistent.

Choose one variant and stick with it. If both versions are accessible, set up redirects. Duplicate content under different URLs is bad for SEO.

Most modern websites don't use trailing slashes for pages but do for directories. Your CMS probably has a default setting.

Avoiding Dynamic Parameters

URLs with many parameters are hard to read and can cause crawling problems:

/products?category=shoes&color=black&size=42&sort=price

For main pages, prefer static URLs. Filters and sorting can use parameters, but the base URL should be clean.

If parameters are unavoidable, configure the URL parameter tool in Google Search Console. This helps Google understand which parameters change content and which can be ignored.

Multilingual Websites

For international websites, you have several options:

Subdirectories are usually the best choice. They're easy to manage and domain authority is shared. Don't forget hreflang tags to signal language versions to Google.

Check your URL structure with our SEO Analyzer and get specific improvement suggestions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use dates in blog URLs?

In most cases, no. Dates make URLs longer and can make content appear outdated. If you update an article, the old date remains in the URL. Exception: News websites where the date is content-relevant.

Can I change URLs later to add keywords?

Technically yes, but it's risky. The existing URL has already accumulated rankings and backlinks. After a change, these need to be rebuilt. Only for very poor URLs is the effort worthwhile.

How long can a URL be at maximum?

There's no hard limit, but shorter URLs are better. Google shows about 512 pixels in search results – roughly 60-70 characters. Anything beyond gets truncated. For users and sharing, shorter URLs are also more practical.