How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs

Search engines evaluate every element of your website when determining rankings, and your URL structure plays a bigger role than most people realize. A well-crafted URL tells both search engines and visitors what your page is about before they even click.

In this guide, you'll learn the essential principles for creating SEO-friendly URLs that improve your search visibility, increase click-through rates, and create a better user experience across all your digital channels.

What makes a URL SEO-friendly?

An SEO-friendly URL is clean, descriptive, and structured in a way that helps search engines understand your content. These URLs prioritize readability for humans while following technical best practices that search algorithms favor.

Good URLs share several characteristics. They're short enough to scan quickly but descriptive enough to indicate the page's content. They use words instead of numbers or random characters. They follow a logical hierarchy that reflects your site's structure.

Search engines like Google have confirmed that URL structure is a ranking factor. When your URLs clearly communicate what users will find on a page, search engines can categorize and rank your content more effectively.

Keep URLs short and descriptive

Shorter URLs perform better in search results and are easier for people to remember and share.

Aim for URLs under 60 characters when possible. This length displays fully in most search results without truncation. Every word in your URL should serve a purpose—if you can remove it without losing meaning, cut it.

Instead of example.com/our-complete-guide-to-understanding-seo-friendly-url-best-practices, use example.com/seo-friendly-urls. The shorter version communicates the same topic while being more scannable and shareable.

When you need to shorten long URLs for sharing on social media or in marketing campaigns, you can use URL shortening tools that maintain your SEO value through 301 redirects while creating cleaner, more memorable links.

Use keywords strategically

Including relevant keywords in your URLs helps search engines understand your content and can improve rankings for those terms. Place your primary keyword near the beginning of the URL when possible.

Focus on your main topic keyword rather than stuffing multiple keywords into one URL. If you're writing about email marketing tips, example.com/email-marketing-tips works better than example.com/email-marketing-tips-strategies-best-practices-guide.

Keywords in URLs also affect click-through rates. When someone sees a search result, the URL provides context about whether the page matches their search intent. A URL with relevant keywords signals that your page contains the information they're looking for.

Use hyphens to separate words

Always use hyphens (-) to separate words in your URLs. Search engines read hyphens as spaces, allowing them to distinguish individual words. Never use underscores, spaces, or other characters for word separation.

The URL example.com/social-media-marketing is correctly formatted. Search engines interpret this as three separate words: "social," "media," and "marketing." If you used example.com/social_media_marketing with underscores, search engines might read it as one long word: "socialmediamarketing."

This seemingly minor detail affects how search engines index and rank your pages. Stick with hyphens consistently across your entire site.

Stick to lowercase letters

URLs are case-sensitive on most web servers. Using uppercase letters can create duplicate content issues if Example.com/Page and example.com/page are treated as different URLs.

Maintain consistency by using only lowercase letters in all your URLs. This prevents technical SEO problems and makes your URLs easier to type and remember. Modern content management systems typically handle this automatically, but it's worth verifying if you're building custom URLs.

Create a logical URL structure

Your URL structure should mirror your site's hierarchy and help users understand where they are on your site. A logical structure makes navigation intuitive and helps search engines understand the relationship between your pages.

For an e-commerce site, a product URL might look like: example.com/category/subcategory/product-name. This structure clearly shows the organization: the product belongs to a subcategory, which belongs to a broader category.

Keep your structure as flat as possible. Every additional level in your URL hierarchy requires an extra click for users to reach content. If you can reduce example.com/blog/category/subcategory/year/month/post-title to example.com/blog/post-title, do it.

Avoid unnecessary parameters and numbers

Dynamic URLs with parameters like example.com/page?id=123&session=xyz create problems for SEO. These URLs are harder to read, less likely to be clicked, and more difficult for search engines to crawl efficiently.

If your site generates dynamic URLs, use URL rewriting to create clean, static-looking versions. Transform example.com/product?id=456 into example.com/product-name.

Session IDs and tracking parameters should be implemented through other methods that don't clutter your URLs. Most analytics platforms offer ways to track user behavior without adding parameters to every URL.

Match URLs to page content

Your URL should accurately reflect the content on your page. When someone reads your URL, they should have a clear expectation of what they'll find when they click.

Misleading URLs damage trust and increase bounce rates. If your URL suggests one topic but delivers different content, visitors leave quickly—a signal to search engines that your page doesn't satisfy search intent.

Update URLs if your content changes significantly. If you started with a post about "2024 marketing trends" and updated it to "2025 marketing trends," change the URL to match and set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.

Remove stop words when appropriate

Stop words like "a," "the," "and," "of," and "in" add length without improving SEO. You can often remove them to create shorter, cleaner URLs without losing meaning.

Instead of example.com/how-to-make-a-website, use example.com/how-to-make-website. The meaning stays clear, and you've shortened the URL by one word.

However, don't remove stop words if it makes your URL harder to read or changes the meaning. example.com/guide-to-email-marketing reads better than example.com/guide-email-marketing. Readability comes first.

Use HTTPS for security

HTTPS is a confirmed ranking factor. Google has stated that secure sites receive a ranking boost over non-secure alternatives. Beyond SEO, HTTPS protects user data and builds trust with visitors.

Every modern website should use HTTPS by default. Most hosting providers offer free SSL certificates through Let's Encrypt, making the switch straightforward and cost-free.

Browsers now flag non-HTTPS sites as "Not Secure," which can scare away visitors before they even view your content. The SEO benefits and trust signals make HTTPS essential for any website.

Implement canonical URLs

Canonical tags tell search engines which version of a URL you want indexed when multiple URLs contain similar or duplicate content. This prevents duplicate content issues that can dilute your SEO efforts.

If your product pages are accessible through multiple URLs—like example.com/products/shoes and example.com/red-shoes—use a canonical tag to indicate your preferred version.

E-commerce sites particularly benefit from canonical tags since products often appear in multiple categories. The canonical tag consolidates ranking signals to one URL instead of splitting them across several versions.

Manage URL changes with 301 redirects

When you change a URL, always implement a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This redirect tells search engines the page has permanently moved and transfers the ranking power to the new location.

Without a 301 redirect, anyone who bookmarked your old URL or clicked a link from another site encounters a 404 error. You lose those visitors and the SEO value that built up over time.

If you're managing multiple redirects or need to create clean, trackable short links that preserve SEO value, link management tools handle 301 redirects automatically while providing detailed analytics on link performance.

Create readable, user-friendly URLs

SEO-friendly URLs serve humans first. If your URL makes sense to a person reading it, it will likely work well for search engines too.

Read your URLs out loud. If you can easily tell someone your URL over the phone or remember it after seeing it once, you've created something user-friendly. URLs like example.com/contact or example.com/pricing are immediately clear to everyone.

The best URLs balance SEO optimization with simplicity. They include relevant keywords without keyword stuffing, maintain a logical structure without becoming overly complex, and stay short without sacrificing clarity.

Conclusion

Creating SEO-friendly URLs is one of the most straightforward ways to improve your search rankings and user experience. By keeping URLs short, using relevant keywords, maintaining a logical structure, and following technical best practices, you give both search engines and visitors clear signals about your content.

Thanks for reading! If you're managing multiple links across campaigns and need to maintain SEO-friendly structures while tracking performance, S.EE offers URL shortening, analytics, QR codes, and branded domains—all in one place.

Get started with S.EE—plans begin at just $5.99/month, or explore pricing options to find what works for you.

Frequently asked questions

Do URL keywords affect search rankings?

Yes, keywords in URLs are a ranking factor. Search engines use URL text to understand page content and determine relevance for search queries. While not the strongest ranking signal, well-optimized URLs contribute to better search visibility when combined with quality content and other SEO factors.

How long should an SEO-friendly URL be?

Keep URLs under 60 characters when possible. Shorter URLs display fully in search results, are easier to remember and share, and tend to perform better in rankings. However, never sacrifice clarity for brevity—your URL should still clearly indicate what content the page contains.

Should I change old URLs to make them SEO-friendly?

Only change URLs if the SEO benefits outweigh the risks. When you do change URLs, always implement 301 redirects from old to new versions. For established pages with strong backlinks and rankings, the disruption of changing URLs may not be worth the minor SEO improvements from a better URL structure.

Can I use the same URL structure as my competitors?

While you can use similar URL structures to competitors, your specific URLs should be unique. Observe how top-ranking sites in your niche structure their URLs, but create your own descriptive, keyword-optimized URLs that accurately represent your unique content.

What's the difference between URL slugs and full URLs?

A URL slug is the part of the URL that comes after your domain name. In example.com/blog/seo-tips, the slug is seo-tips. The full URL includes the protocol (https://), domain, and any subdirectories. Both should follow SEO-friendly principles, but slugs are what you directly control when creating new pages.