URL Architecture
URL architecture relates to the structure of a webpage’s URL and how it can impact a page’s performance in search. There are several elements to consider when creating a URL structure to ensure it is optimised for both search engines and users. These are covered within our Hangout Notes, along with recommendations and insights from Google.
Location Name High in URL Path Raises Suspicion About Doorway Pages
Location names high up in the URL path raises suspicions that there are going to be a lot of doorway pages on the site, where the full content is being duplicated across a large number of cities. The web spam team might take action on these if there is nothing unique across these city pages.
Keywords in URL Are a Small Ranking Factor But Unlikely to Visibly Change Ranking
Including keywords in a URL is such a small ranking factor that you probably wouldn’t visibly see changes to a site’s ranking for those keywords.
Google Encodes + Symbol And %20 as Space in URL
Google treats +, %20 are treated as equivalent in a URL, in that they map to a space. However, adding special characters in a URL can make it harder for someone to link to your content as other services may struggle to parse that URL.
Only Change URLs When Absolutely Necessary as Can Cause Drop in SERPs
John recommends against removing old fashioned URL suffixes, like .html, as Google will treat these as new URLs and will recrawl and reindex them having to learn a new structure. This will lead to a significant dip in SERPs for a period of time until the URLs have been recrawled and reindexed.
URL Changes Will Cause Ranking Fluctuations
If you make big changes to your URLs within a site, you should expect temporary ranking fluctuations whilst Google reprocesses and indexes the new configuration.
URL Parameters Make it Easier for Search Engines to Crawl your Site
URL Parameters make it easier for Google to understand the URL structure, and identify which URLs to ignore. Having parameters in the url path can make it harder for Google to understand.
Session IDs should be a Separate Parameter
If you add session IDs as a separate parameter instead of a semi-colon, then they can be managed more easily with the Search Console Parameter handling tool
Google Supports URLs up to 2000 characters
Google supports URLs up to 2000 characters.
Google Uses URLs for Relevancy Matching
Google Uses the URL ‘a little bit’ to match relevancy to search queries.
Migrate to HTTPS If You’re Moving Domains
If you are going to migrate your domain, it’s best to migrate to HTTPS at the same time. However changing URL structure and moving to a new domain is much harder for Google to pick up.