A Beginner’s Guide to Creating SEO-friendly URLs

• Kumar Ankur
• January 03, 2026
• No Comments

If you want to improve your website’s SEO, create URLs that are short, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Also, use hyphens to separate words, avoid special characters, and make URLs easy to read for both users and search engines.

Creating SEO-friendly URLs is an easy but often overlooked part of on-page SEO. Generally, a clear, well-structured URL will help search engines understand your page. Also, it will make your website easier for visitors to navigate and can increase your click-through rates from search results. If you are unsure how to optimize your URLs for higher rankings, read this blog. Here, based on Google’s SEO guidelines and real-world website optimization experience, we have explained how to create SEO-friendly URLs, what mistakes to avoid, and why they matter for your website’s performance.

An Overview of a URL

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address that points to a specific page on the Internet. Each part of a URL has a purpose to help both users and search engines understand the page.

1. Protocol: It comes at the beginning of the URL, usually http:// or https://, and shows how data is transferred between the browser and the server. HTTPS is preferred because it is secure.
2. Domain Name: It identifies the website, such as example.com, and represents the main address of your site. A domain can include a subdomain, which comes before the main domain and helps organize different sections of a site, like blog.example.com. It also has a top-level domain (TLD) at the end, such as .com, .org, or .net, which indicates the type or purpose of the website.
3. Subfolders or Path: It shows the specific location of a page within the website, like /blog/seo-tips/. They help organize content and indicate the hierarchy of your site.
4. File Name: The file name points to a specific page or resource. It often reflects the topic using keywords, for example, seo-friendly-urls.html.
5. Slug: It is the part of the URL that comes after the domain and paths. It typically describes the page content in a readable way, such as seo-friendly-urls. Using clear, descriptive slugs will improve SEO and user experience.

What is an SEO-friendly URL?

An SEO-friendly URL is a web address that is simple and easy to read for both people and search engines. It clearly shows what the page is about using relevant keywords, without extra symbols or confusing numbers. Search engines look at URLs to rank pages, and users use them to decide if a page is trustworthy and relevant.

Example of Good vs. Poor URLs

Why SEO-friendly URL Matters

Google Search Central says that URLs help search engines understand your website’s structure and what each page is about. This highlights the importance of SEO-friendly URLs. Most importantly, optimized URLs will help your website perform better in many ways.

When you optimize your website URL, you can achieve the following benefits:

• Improve search engine crawlability
• Build trust with users and make URLs easier to read and remember
• Encourage more people to click on your link in search results, increasing click-through rates (CTR)
• Provide context to search engines about the content on the page
• Make links simpler and cleaner to share

How to Make URLs Search Engine Friendly

If you are interested in optimizing the URL of your website, then follow the steps below:

1. Choose Static/Dynamic URL Format

First, decide whether the URL will be static or dynamic.

• Static URLs are non-changing and do not vary. It is conventionally more preferred for SEO because search engines can read this type of URL easily.
• The Dynamic URL has been created by the server and usually carries parameters/codes. Sometimes it depends on the action of the users or the query of the database. In general, it is useful for huge sites; however, it is more difficult for both the users and search engines to read and understand.

2. Research keywords

Next, find the keywords your audience searches for most often. You can use SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Moz to discover popular and long-tail keywords and use them when creating your URLs.

3. Create keyword-rich page title

Before you start optimizing your URL, give a descriptive title for your page, which should basically incorporate your target keywords. This ensures your URL is optimized based on your page title. Use a title of a varying size of approximately 50-60 characters, action words, and test a few titles.

4. Optimize Permalink (URL Slug)

Ensure that the URL slug is readable. Omit unnecessary characters, include the target keyword, use lower case, keep it short, and add hyphens to separate words instead of spaces or underscores.

5. Add Breadcrumbs representing site structure

Breadcrumbs provide users with their current position on the website and track their path from the homepage to their current location on the website. They provide easier navigation on a website and help with page ranking in search engines. In case your website has subcategories, you need to display these in the URL to determine the page’s hierarchy. For example, abc.com/blog/seo-tips

6. Verify URLs don’t link to 404 (broken) pages

After creating or updating URLs, periodically check for broken links (404 errors) and resolve them by updating the link or adding redirects to the proper pages. This will enhance the users’ experience and make the indexing of the site by search engines easier.

Best Practices for Creating SEO-friendly URLs

A well-optimized URL has certain important features that make it easier for search engines and users to understand. Follow these best practices to make URLs clear, readable, and optimized for search.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in URLs

Steer clear of these very common mistakes and follow smart approaches that make URLs SEO-friendly:

• Long URLs are hard to read and difficult for crawling. So, keep them short and use relevant keywords.
• Spammy URLs will be made by keyword stuffing. Therefore, use keywords in a natural way without overloading the URL.
• Avoid long ID numbers or extra parameters, which can confuse search engines and weaken SEO.
• Use HTTPS because it promotes security, trust among website visitors, and supports SEO.

Conclusion

SEO-friendly URLs are very crucial in on-page search engine optimization. Even if these URLs are very small, their impact can be very significant in relation to search engine rankings. Short and descriptive URLs with proper use of target keywords can improve the SEO of any website. Take our advanced AI SEO services if you are not aware of how to use search engine-friendly URLs on your website. The SEO experts from our team will help you in fulfilling all of your demands.

FAQs

1.      Should I change my existing URL?

Only change URLs when necessary. If you do, set up 301 redirects, update your internal links, and resubmit your sitemap in Google Search Console. Avoid unnecessary changes, as they can temporarily hurt your rankings.

2.      What is the ideal length for an SEO-friendly URL?

The URL length can be around 50-60 characters, and it should clearly show the page’s content.

3.      Can I include dates in URLs?

Include dates only for time-sensitive content like news. Avoid them for evergreen content, as they can make pages appear outdated.

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Kumar Ankur

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