URL

The URL seems a negligible part of the website. However, this is not the case. URL is a tool that can be used for SEO. In this article, we tell you how.

What is it?

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and is the address of a resource on the Internet. These can be web pages or images. A URL is a piece of text that indicates the location of a resource (resource). The most familiar use of a URL is to point to a Web page on the Internet.

The URL is human-readable text. Computers use the URL to communicate with servers. A URL consists of a protocol, domain name and path (indicates which subcategory the page is in). The “protocol” indicates how a browser obtains information from a source. The default is “https. The domain name (or hostname) is the specific location of a resource. ‘Top level’ displays a website’s category. The “path” represents the specific heading of information that can be found on the website.

It may look like this: protocol://domainname.top-level-domain/path. Or: https://RalfvanVeen.com/portfolio/

The importance of a URL for SEO

There are a number of benefits of URL optimization in the interest of SEO. We mention three. The first benefit is to improve the visitor’s user experience. A well-structured URL, displays visitors and search engines a vivid indication of what the page to be visited contains.

The second benefit is that optimizing the URL helps improve organic findability. The URL contains keywords that match the search query performed. When the keywords match seamlessly, it has a positive effect on the findability of the website. This is because Google notices the relevance of the website. This ultimately promotes a website’s authority. It is important not to have too many keywords in a URL. Relevance and quality are more important than unnecessary keywords. Unnecessary keywords do not give a good indication of the content on the web page.

The third benefit of URL optimization is that a concise URL can serve as its own anchor text. When a URL is not optimized, the URL consists of characters and symbols and is too long. A URL in this form has no positive effect on the usability of a page. Through keywords, you provide a concise indication of the content on the web page. Once the URL is concise and relevant, the URL is used as its own anchor text.

URL remains a factor that modestly affects SEO. However, it helps optimize the findability of a website. In addition to the URL, it is important to optimize other factors that affect website ranking. When done correctly, the whole thing has a positive effect on ranking results. This is better for your SEO and so you generate more visitors.

How do you optimize the URL for SEO?

There are a number of concerns that must be taken into account during URL creation. We list them.

  • Short words: use relevant and short words to give the visitor an indication of the content.
  • URLs should be effective and concise: the visitor should get an accurate idea of the information to be found on the website.
  • Use hyphens: to optimize the readability of the URL, keywords should be separated by hyphens. Avoid symbols and spaces!
  • Use lowercase letters: keywords with capital letters can be mistaken for duplicate content.
  • Do not put parameters in the URL.

URL remains an additional factor affecting SEO. However, it helps optimize the findability of a website. When the visitor can read the URL properly and considers the URL relevant, Google sees this as well. The better the usability, the higher Google rates the website.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
Five stars
My clients give me a 5.0 on Google out of 78 reviews

I have been working for 10 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 22 March 2024. The last update of this article was on 22 March 2024. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.