SEO-Friendly URL Tips That Boost Your Search Rankings

An SEO-friendly URL helps search engines understand your page and makes it easier for users to navigate your site. When your link is clean, simple and packed with relevant keywords, it boosts your rankings and increases your chances of appearing higher in search results.

A well-optimized URL also improves user experience — people are more likely to click on a link that tells them what to expect. Plus, a concise, readable link builds trust and encourages more clicks, which can lead to higher engagement and conversions. Think of your URL as a first impression — make it clear, relevant and easy to remember to maximize its SEO impact.

Use Relevant Keywords

Keywords in your link help search engines understand your page’s content, simplifying ranking for relevant searches. In one experiment, researchers found that with multiple pages indexed and ranking for the same keyword, the page with the keyword in its URL consistently ranked the highest. This suggests that Google gives extra weight to links when determining search relevance.

To maximize impact, place your primary keyword near the beginning of the link — this makes it more readable for users and search engines. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as too many keywords can make URLs look spammy and reduce credibility. Keep it natural, concise and relevant to strike the perfect balance between SEO and user experience.

Separate Words with Hyphens, Not Underscores

In SEO, hyphens and underscores aren’t interchangeable — search engines read them differently. Google treats hyphens as word separators, making it easy to recognize individual keywords in your link. But if you use underscores, search engines see them as word joiners, meaning “seo_tips” could be read as “seotips,” making it challenging for your page to rank for the right terms.

Using hyphens helps Google index your content correctly and improves readability for users. An SEO-friendly URL builds trust and increases the chances of getting clicks. So stick with hyphens to keep your links clear, optimized and search-friendly.

• Correct: example.com/seo-tips-for-beginners
• Incorrect: example.com/seo_tips_for_beginners

Keep URLs Short and Descriptive

Shorter links rank better because they are easier for search engines to crawl and for users to read and remember. A concise, well-structured URL helps Google quickly understand your page’s content, improving your chances of ranking higher. 

Ideally, an SEO-friendly URL should be under 75 characters, as longer links may get cut off in search results and the browser’s address bar. Keeping it short also improves shareability and reduces the risk of broken links.

• Good URL: example.com/seo-tips-beginners
• Bad URL: example.com/2025/03/seo-tips-for-beginners-to-improve-google-search-rankings

Keeping your links clean and concise makes them more search-friendly and user-friendly, which can lead to better rankings and more clicks.

Avoid Stop Words

Stop words are common words like “and,” “the,” “of” and “for” that search engines often ignore because they don’t add much SEO value. Removing unnecessary stop words makes your links cleaner, more efficient and easier to read. 

However, you don’t need to eliminate all stop words — if they add meaningful context, they can make the URL look more natural and user-friendly. The key is to remove words that don’t change the meaning while keeping those that improve readability.

• Optimized URL: example.com/best-marketing-strategies
• Unoptimized URL: example.com/the-best-marketing-strategies-for-2024

The second link is longer but does not add ranking value, while the first one is concise, relevant and still makes sense. SEO-friendly URLs aim for a natural, readable structure that balances clarity and keyword optimization.

Minimize URL Parameters

Dynamic links with query strings (e.g., example.com/product?id=12345&ref=abc) can hurt your SEO because they are messy, hard to read and don’t indicate what the page is about. Search engines struggle to understand these URLs, and users are less likely to click on links that look complex or spammy. Instead, you should rewrite your links to be static and user-friendly, incorporating relevant keywords and making them easy to remember.

• Complex URL: example.com/product?id=12345
• User-friendly URL: example.com/wireless-headphones

Stick to Lowercase Letters

Using uppercase letters in URLs can cause duplicate content issues because search engines treat uppercase and lowercase links as separate pages. If your site isn’t configured correctly, example.com/SEO-tips and example.com/seo-tips might be seen as two different URLs, potentially splitting ranking signals and hurting your SEO.

Worse, some servers (especially Linux-based ones) are case-sensitive, meaning example.com/Seo-Tips could load a completely different page than example.com/seo-tips, leading to confusion for users and search engines.

• Inconsistent URL: example.com/Best-SEO-Practices
• Consistent URL: example.com/best-seo-practices

SEO-friendly URLs use lowercase letters to avoid these issues and enforce a consistent structure. This ensures search engines recognize only one version of your page, improving rankings and avoiding duplicate content penalties.

Use HTTPS for Secure and Trustworthy URLs

Switching to HTTPS impacts your rankings. Google strongly recommends it because it encrypts data, protects users’ privacy and prevents hackers from intercepting sensitive information.

As a result, Google prioritizes secure websites in search rankings, giving HTTPS-enabled sites a competitive edge. Beyond ranking, users trust secure websites more, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.

To switch from HTTP to HTTPS without losing SEO:

• Get an SSL certificate from a trusted provider.
• Implement 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS to preserve link equity.
• Update all internal links, canonical tags and sitemaps.
• Ensure Google Search Console and analytics tools track your HTTPS version.

Avoid Unnecessary Subfolders

Deep subfolders can make links unnecessarily long, harder to read and more difficult for search engines to crawl efficiently. The deeper a URL is buried in your site’s structure, the more effort search engines need to index it, which can dilute its ranking potential.

While subfolders are useful for organizing country-specific content (example.com/us/ vs. example.com/uk/) or separating sensitive sections like adult content, too many layers can hurt user experience. SEO-friendly URLs are closer to the root domain, making them easier to navigate, share and rank in search results.

• Clean URL: example.com/best-seo-practices
• Cluttered URL: example.com/blog/category/2025/march/seo/best-practices

Keeping your links short and structured efficiently makes your site easier to crawl, boosting your chance of ranking higher in search results.

Build an SEO-friendly URL for Better Rankings and User Experience

Optimizing your URLs is a simple yet powerful step if you want better search rankings, higher click-through rates and a more user-friendly website. Keeping them short and well-structured makes it easier for search engines and users to understand and trust your content. Whether you’re a business owner, marketer or designer, applying these SEO-friendly URL tips can give your website a competitive edge and drive more organic traffic.