How to Create SEO Friendly URL Structure?

21/04/2023
URL Structure for SEO

SEO friendly URL structure should be plain, simple and understandable. It would be more accurate to prefer readable words instead of link links consisting of long numbers.

Do Not Use Non-ASCII Characters in URL Structure

Do not use Non-ASCII characters on the structure, compose words using English letters, do not use emojis in URLs.

Not recommended URL

https://www.example.com/نعناع
https://www.example.com/杂货/薄荷
https://www.example.com/gemüse
https://www.example.com/🦙✨

Don’t Use Spaces and Commas

Do not use spaces and commas between the words that make up the URL.


Don’t Use Underscores in URLs

Do not use underscores (_) to separate multi-word URLs. Google does not want to use underscores in URLs, but recommends using hyphens (-).

Not Recommended URL

https://juniortoexpert.com/en/url_uniform_resource_locator/

Recommended URL

https://juniortoexpert.com/en/url-uniform-resource-locator/


Separate Words in URL

If more than one word will be used in the URL, do not write these words together, separate them with a hyphen (-).

Not Recommended URL

https://juniortoexpert.com/en/urluniformresourcelocator/

Recommended URL

https://juniortoexpert.com/en/url-uniform-resource-locator/

Does URL Length Matter?


Do File Extensions Affect SEO? (.html & .php & .asp)

For Google, it doesn’t matter if there is a file extension at the end of the URLs, Google doesn’t care about file extensions, but it would be better to delete the extensions for a plain and simple look.


Does Google Consider Hashtags (#) in URLs?

The use of hashtags in URLs is generally ignored by search engines, as they are used to send the user to a specific place.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html> 
<head></head> 
<body> 
<a href="#click">Buton</a> 
<p>Lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit.</p>
<p>Lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit.</p>
<p>Lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit.</p> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<!-- . . . --> 
<p id="click">Dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit.</p> 
</body> 
</html>

URL Management on Multisite and Multilingual Websites

URL editing should be performed for multilingual and multi-regional websites.

URL Structures for Alternative Regions and Languages

The following URL structure options are applicable, except for parameterized use, recommended by Google.

URL Structure OptionsProsCons

TLD with Specific Country Extension

example.de

  • Clear geotargeting
  • Easy seperation of sites
  • Expensive (can have limited availability)
  • Can only target a single country

Subdomain by Country Name

de.example.com

  • Easy to set up
  • Allows different server location
  • Easy seperation of sites

Subdirectory by Country Name

example.com/de/

  • Easy to set up
  • Easy seperation of sites
  • Low maintenance (same host)
  • Single server location

Parameter by Country Name

site.com/?loc=de

  • Not recommended
  • URL-based segmentation difficult
  • Users might not recognize geotargeting from the URL alone