URL Names not so important in future?
-
I read somewhere (hard to say where with all the information about SEO and google!) that in the future, Google will put less importance on the URL name for ranking purposes. Any thoughts?
-
URLs will always be important in lots of ways;
- They are seen by users in many cases (as links, in social media and even the SERPs) and can help improve CTR.
- They are extremely important to the overall site architecture - and especially for information architecture.
- They can often become the anchor text in links.
- They help a user when browsing the site, as if they represent the structure or "level" depth (almost like breadcrumbs) is can make the navigating experience easier.
I don't think URLs are something Google looks at in a simplistic way like "oh you're URL says X keyword, we're gonna weigh that keyword more" - I think all of these factors feed into the importance of URLs and I don't see that value diminishing anytime soon.
-Dan
-
I think ever since firefox came out with the amazing bar and google became the new http they have had to rank domain names high in the SERPS, as there is always a chance that that is what you are looking for if you put it into your browser address bar.
However, it is not beyond thinking that google will rank things differently depending on how you search. Searching on a mobile phone provides different results to searching on your desktop. So why not searching from your browser location bar giving different results to searching from the google homepage? With the google homepage giving less relevance to domain names as a signal.
I am sure Google are more than capable of being data led and seeing if those things correlate and making the necessary changes.
Other ways in which domain names become less relevant are through such things as apps and social media games. Take instagram as an example. An online business that made its name before it even had a domain name. It was a solid app, searched for and shared through the mobile phone market places and then via facebook.
With the battle from facebook to essentially become your desktop and the entire internet - like AOL tried doing many years back, in which everything should be run through their systems and their framework I hope that domain names do not become obsolete as the prospect scares me a little.
First time posting here.
Figured I had to start somewhere.
-
Im sure it is possible it could devalue down the road, but Title, URL and Body are one of the easiest ways to identify if the content is relevant. Google also takes in account bounce rate so if 'title', 'url' and 'body' are targeting 'shoes', but your website is about garage install it will be able to tell immediately that your site is not relevant.
-
I can't speak for the future but late last year I changed the url structure of my site and saw a pretty significant improvement in my rankings.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Can 'Jump link'/'Anchor tag' urls rank in Google for keywords?
E.g. www.website.com/page/#keyword-anchor-text Where the part after the # is a section of the page you can jump to, and the title of that section is a secondary keyword you want the page to rank for?
Algorithm Updates | | rwat0 -
We recently transitioned a site to our server, but Google is still showing the old server's urls. Is there a way to stop Google from showing urls?
We recently transitioned a site to our server, but Google is still showing the old server's urls. Is there a way to stop Google from showing urls?
Algorithm Updates | | Stamats0 -
Should we use brand name of product in URL
Hi all, What is best for SEO. We sell products online. Is it good to mention the brand in the product detail page URL key if (part of) the brand is also in the home url? So our URL is: www.brandXstore.com Is it best to do: www.brandXstore.com/brandX-productA.html of just do: www.brandXstore.com/ProductA.html Thanks for quick answering 😉
Algorithm Updates | | RetailClicks1 -
What is the best url format ?
hello, I have the multiple site with file format url like contact-us.php, search.php, index.html But now i am going to update my site using any framework such as yii, cakephp, now i need the best suggestion, i wanted to create the seo friendly site, so what is the best format for ulr, 1. file format such as contact-us.php, index.html, about-us.html [or] 2. path based url such as contact-us/ , about-my-company/ [or] 3. path based without slash like contact-us, about-my-company Please provide me the best solution for above Thanks Alex
Algorithm Updates | | massimobrogi0 -
Infographics Links could get discounted in the future
Hey guys, I read this article this morning on SEL. Not sure what to think about it.. Matt did have a point that a lot of infographics are of bad quality (even with wrong information present at times) , and hence don't deserve to gain links from it. But how could Google possible know whether the infographic itself is of high quality or not?? http://searchengineland.com/cutts-infographic-links-might-get-discounted-in-the-future-127192
Algorithm Updates | | Michael-Goode0 -
Is DMOZ listing important
I have heard a variety of thoughts on the importance of directories such as DMOZ. Any thoughts on this subject from the perspective of google search rankings?
Algorithm Updates | | casper4340 -
Is Bing an Important search engine for traffic
Hi I would like to know if Bing is an important search engine for traffic. I have submitted my site to bing http://www.chesterhypnotherapy.com which is currently off line as i have just transfered it to a new hosting company and i have found in the past that i get very little traffic from it. On average i would say i get around five a day where as with google i gets lots of traffic. I have submitted a site map to bing but that has not increased traffic. Can anyone let me know for bing is an important search engine if you are targeting customers from the UK and if it is, does anyone have any ideas of how to increase traffic through bing
Algorithm Updates | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Local SEO url format & structure: ".com/albany-tummy-tuck" vs ".com/tummy-tuck" vs ".com/procedures/tummy-tuck-albany-ny" etc."
We have a relatively new site (re: August '10) for a plastic surgeon who opened his own solo practice after 25+ years with a large group. Our current url structure goes 3 folders deep to arrive at our tummy tuck procedure landing page. The site architecture is solid and each plastic surgery procedure page (e.g. rhinoplasty, liposuction, facelift, etc.) is no more than a couple clicks away. So far, so good - but given all that is known about local seo (which is a very different beast than national seo) quite a bit of on-page/architecture work can still be done to further improve our local rank. So here a a couple big questions facing us at present: First, regarding format, is it a given that using geo keywords within the url indispustibly and dramatically impacts a site's local rank for the better (e.g. the #2 result for "tummy tuck" and its SHENANIGANS level use of "NYC", "Manhattan", "newyorkcity" etc.)? Assuming that it is, would we be better off updating our cosmetic procedure landing page urls to "/albany-tummy-tuck" or "/albany-ny-tummy-tuck" or "/tummy-tuck-albany" etc.? Second, regarding structure, would we be better off locating every procedure page within the root directory (re: "/rhinoplasty-albany-ny/") or within each procedure's proper parent category (re: "/facial-rejuvenation/rhinoplasty-albany-ny/")? From what I've read within the SEOmoz Q&A, adding that parent category (e.g. "/breast-enhancement/breast-lift") is better than having every link in the root (i.e. completely flat). Third, how long before google updates their algorithm so that geo-optimized urls like http://www.kolkermd.com/newyorkplasticsurgeon/tummytucknewyorkcity.htm don't beat other sites who do not optimize so aggressively or local? Fourth, assuming that each cosmetic procedure page will eventually have strong link profiles (via diligent, long term link building efforts), is it possible that geo-targeted urls will negatively impact our ability to rank for regional or less geo-specific searches? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | WDeLuca0