URL Optimization – Importance for SEO and Ranking

It’s difficult to say exactly how much a website’s URLs matter for its SEO. Some tests have shown that it doesn’t matter at all, while others suggest there’s a clear correlation between well-optimized URLs and how well a site ranks.

Either way, we believe there’s no reason to take chances. If you have the option, we therefore recommend using short, static, and descriptive URLs.

Here are a couple of examples of good URLs:

• Https://domain.com/en/
• Https://domain.com/main-category/sub-category/product/
• Https://domain.com/main-category/service/

As you can see, it’s not exactly rocket science, but simply about using a logical structure. Also, avoid unnecessary parameters or anything else that makes your URLs more complicated than they need to be.

Optimizing URLs is not always beneficial

That said, it’s not always strategically right to optimize a site’s URLs, even if there’s room for improvement. Sites with subpar URL structures that still rank well are probably better off leaving things as they are.

Changing the URL structure is a major intervention, which will require redirects from the old URLs to the updated versions. This CAN negatively affect organic visibility, both in the short and long term.

When weighing this against the fact that an optimized URL structure is only a small piece of the bigger SEO puzzle, it quickly becomes clear that there are better and worse times to implement this optimization measure.

When should you optimize a site’s URLs?

Of course, the best time to SEO-optimize a website’s URLs is before launch. Don’t rush ahead too quickly; instead, follow the advice above and try to set a URL structure that you can hopefully grow with for many years to come.

Another excellent opportunity to review and optimize a website’s URL structure is in connection with a redesign or platform migration, in cases where corrections to the current URL structure will naturally be required anyway. Simply see this as a good chance to start fresh.