The URL structure may seem insignificant, but in fact it determines the quality of your website, and even affects the ranking of your website. Therefore, this article provides 8 common problems and solutions in URL editing to help you choose the correct URL structure.
At Jessin Internet Marketing AgencyHandle the SEO project of the client's foreign trade websiteDuring the process, there are five kinds of troubles that are often encountered. The number one problem is the URL structure of the website. This article will discuss the basic elements of URLs, how to choose the right URL, the most common problems in URL editing and how to solve them.
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1. URL standardization
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The basic meaning of website canonicalization is: your content needs a URL, and it is the only most effective URL. For example, on a certain page of a website, the following different URLs can be listed, and the content is exactly the same when clicked, but the search engine will consider them to be different pages:
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domain/page
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www.domain name/page
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domain name /page/
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www.domainname/page/
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domain/page/index.html
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www.domainname/page/index.html
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It depends on how your website links internally, and how other websites link to your website. But search engines still end up finding so many URLs that if there are 6 or more conversions for the same page, the site can quickly spin out of control.
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You can fix this with the rel=canonical tag. If 99% of people link to your URL but don't match the rel=canonical tag, then search engines will ignore your tag and only index the URL.
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(PS: The rel=canonical tag is to solve the problem of repeated indexing by Google due to different URL links but the same web page content. For such a situation, if the rel=canonical tag is not used, it will cause Google to index two identical web pages I don’t know about the issues of inclusion and ranking. Over time, when there are a large number of such webpages on the website, it may cause the website to be downgraded, not included or even K because of a large amount of duplicate content.)
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The best way to handle this is to use a server-side program. Use Htaccess or ISAPI to configure your web server, and the pages you serve either have "www" or none. If you use both, do a link audit to see which one has more incoming links and choose whichever. In short, no matter what, you must always be consistent.
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2. File extension in URL
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There is no value in .html, .php, .asp or any other file extension, be it these common or rare extensions (like .dx, execute your programming language of choice). That said, it's best not to use any extensions. If your website has been around long enough, there's a good chance you'll be moving from one language to another, as well as changing file extensions. During this process, you'll need to set up redirects so you don't lose incoming links. Of course, you can also set up your server to use PHP programs to serve .asp pages, but the work will be more difficult. If you're using extensions, don't replace just to change, wait until the code is upgraded, and then remove all extensions.
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Now that we're talking about the end of the URL, let's also say the slash "/" at the end of the URL. Please make sure your server configuration is always using or not using it to avoid inconsistencies. I personally like slashes, kind of like a period at the end of a sentence.
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3. Word separators in URLs
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Google used to care a lot about link symbols between words, but now it doesn't matter as much. You can use hyphens or underscores, I like hyphens for readability and usability, but both are fine. But if you choose symbols other than these two, search engines may not be able to decipher your text and give it value, so you must be careful. I am also strongly opposed to linking all words together, search engines may recognize simple, common, high-volume keywords, and others, there will be problems.
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4. The length of the URL
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Short URLs are better than long ones. Five words or less is ideal, and closer to three words is even better. Do not use abbreviations, stop words, or words that are too short. While search engines can handle longer URLs, in practice I've found that a total length of 60 characters (including the domain) works better. You won't run into any runtime problems with long ones, and if you have to go over 60 characters, you have to have a good reason.
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5. Keywords and numbers in the URL
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In general, it is best to include keywords in the URL. However, too many keywords will interfere with system judgment and user perception. For example: Which of the following URLs is more trustworthy:
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Domain name /cell-phones/
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domain name/cell-phones-cell-phones/
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The second doesn't break any rules, it's also short, but it shouldn't be trusted because keyword stuffing works against you.
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Be careful with numbers in URLs. Make sure they're in a format that won't be considered a date by Google, and if it resembles a date, Google may interpret this to mean that your content is published earlier (or later) than the actual publication date.
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6. Parameters in the URL
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One of the trickiest aspects of URLs is the use of parameters. In the early days of the Internet, programmers and developers used parameters in URLs to track products, etc. Today, everyone from marketers to advertising departments use parameters to serve customers. In the beginning, search engines encountered many problems, so they simply ignored the parameters in the URL. But these days, they're more sophisticated and usually handle it just fine. There are even tools for telling them which parameters to ignore, but don't fall into this trap. Using parameters is like fencing, unless you are very skilled, you will be hurt. You can get around this problem by avoiding parameters altogether. If you need to use URL tracking, try hash tag tag tracking.
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7. Directory in URL
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Are directories used in the URL? This question is a little tricky. If you have a large website with over 500 or 1000 pages, then yes, you absolutely need a directory for your URL. If your site is small, it's up to you. Using a directory gives you more control, but you'll have to spend more on URL complexity and overall length, so think carefully before you make your choice.
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8. Move, change and redirect URLs
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If your website has been around for a long time, there are always reasons to change the URL. If you're going to do this, the best way to make sure you stay on track is to use a 301 redirect, moving the old URL to the new one. While search engines are smart enough to recognize other categories, using them is a bit of a risk, so try not to take the risk if you don't have to.
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In conclusion, the more you give up, the more hurdles you add to your SEO efforts. Join us as we review the main points of this article:
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1. Do not let your web pages have multiple versions of URLs, including typical problems such as "www", trailing slashes, etc.
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2. The file type extension is not important and is best avoided in case you run into performance issues or redirection issues in the future.
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3. The URL should be as short as possible. the
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4. Do not pile up keywords in the URL.
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5. Try to avoid numbers, especially numbers that are easily confused as dates.
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6. Avoid parameters if possible, and use hash tags if you really need to.
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7. Only the URLs of large websites need directories, or websites that need subdivided content.
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8. Use 301 redirection, which is a last resort solution.