The right way to format links for your website
Your website link structure matters for SEO and the correct way to build them is to follow one simple rule: put dashes between your words (where you’d typically put a space). But, let’s chat.
What is a website URL?
A website URL is the very end of the page link. It’s what comes after your domain.
Example: www.yourdomain.com/xxxx. This is called a URL.
The back half of that URL, what comes after the “/” is what we’re talking about today.
How to correctly build a URL
What you need to know: words inside the URL need to be separated by dashes.
Examples:
Instead of www.yourdomain.com/onlinecourses it would be www.yourdomain.com/online-courses
Instead of www.yourdomain.com/pelvichealth it would be www.yourdomain.com/pelvic-health
If you don't use dashes, Google will read that as one word "pelvichealth".
This is bad for SEO and also for aesthetic purposes, as it looks less than ideal.
Especially if it is a 4-word link. Gross. Speaking of…
How long should links be?
Wondering how many words is too many words?
Keeping links short and sweet is great because it's easy to say and link to elsewhere. There are exceptions to this rule when it comes to content and blogging, but that's beyond this blog post. You really want it to be as short as it can be while also being descriptive. And if the page is optimized for a keyword you care about, you want the link structure to match the keyword.
A link red flag
One red flag 🚩 for links is when your URLs for your website pages are /general-1, /home-2-1, /duplicate-1.
Please make sure you check those links and rename them to be appropriate for the page and without numbers in them.
Put it into practice; Your homework
Head over to your website and check that all of your main navigation page links appropriate and formatted correctly. If not, change them.
But, proceed with caution because when you change a page url/link, if you link to that page from somewhere else, the old link will be broken and you'll need to replace it with the new page link.
So make sure you are aware of that before you go buck wild changing all of your links at once. You'll need to check your buttons and links that are within your other pages and change them to the new link.
All of this can be found on the website page settings on whatever platform your website is on.
Want help with your link structure and planning?
Here are two ways to work with me if you’re looking for coaching on your links, website structure, and SEO.
One-on-One Coaching Call: an “ask me anything”-type coaching call where you can get specific answers to your questions, SEO plans, website audits, and more. Whatever we can fit into an hour is fair fame.
SEO Services: Choose from an audit or done-for-you services to get specific SEO recommendations and a an SEO plan for your website and business.
