Is it allowed to put a word in all domains URLs to get higher in SERP?

[komeksimas]

Hello,

What good or bad could happen if someone put the same keyword in all site's URL's? (i.e. I would be selling cars and my domain isn't included any word cars, so i put all of my pages in one folder like domain.com/cheap-cars/etc)

[Dr-Pete]

All else being equal, I think it's very similar - you're just diluting your unique keywords. The only exception would be if the phrase "cheap 2012 honda accord" is very high volume. Then, you might want to target that on the page. I'd be selective about that, though - don't just add it to every URL.

Unfortunately, "cheap" is just one of those words that looks low quality to Google, because everyone is chasing. So, I think you have to be all that much more careful. If you sold only used cars and you wanted "used-" ("used-2012-honda-accord", for example) in your URLs, that might be different. I'd still proceed with caution, but at least "used" would be a meaningful aspect of your business and the user experience. "Cheap" is a value judgment that everyone wants to claim.

[komeksimas]

Okay the folder would be meaningless, and what about a keyword "cheap"? It could be like:

www.example.com/cheap-2012-honda-accord

It seems more sense, but wouldn't i lose (as you said) a unique keyword?

Maybe www.example.com/cheap-2012-honda-accord is outranked by www.example.com/2012-honda-accord for search query "2012 Honda Accord", but if i'm only a seller maybe i should aim only for selling queries?

[Dr-Pete]

I tend to agree - you aren't going to get penalized, but two somewhat negative things generally happen. Let's say that your current URLs look like:

www.example.com/2012-honda-accord

...and you change them to:

www.example.com/cheap-cars/2012-honda-accord

(1) You're telling Google, in essence, that every page on the site should rank for "cheap cars". This is keyword cannibalization. Ideally, one page is the best target for that phrase. Adding it everywhere really only confuses spiders and visitors.

(2) You're pushing down the unique keywords "2012 Honda Accord" and making the URL longer. This hurts the ranking power of those unique keywords.

Now, keep in mind, URLs are just one small aspect of ranking, so the impact may be small. Generally, though, Google views this as low quality, and the potential harm well outweighs any SEO value in 2013.

[irvingw]

don't add folders just for the sake of getting keywords in your URL. keywords in your filename are better for SEO anyway. If anything I would recommend you rename your pages for better SEO accompanied with better optimization on the pages themselves.

that being said, you won't get penalized just for adding a folder it's a combination of overdoing that keyword in your pages that could trigger a penalty

[komeksimas]

Well everyone says that URL may consist of keyword and it is allowed.

Also I don't recall breaking Google guidelines with that and I haven't head anyone of getting a penalty for that (maybe everyone stays quiet).

So whether it's allowed to put the same meaningful word in all URL's and it would increase the traffic for (i.e. cheap-cars) or it's not even allowed and I may get penalty for that?

Maybe someone experienced something like that? Or simply can prove what would be the best?

[SoftzSolutions]

I am assuming that your site – abc.com offer many services and “cheap car” is such service. You can go ahead and create a folder and then put all the pages related to cheap cars in that folder. But if you only offer cheap cars, there is no point in creating a folder just for the sake of adding keywords in the URL. Of course, having the keywords in the URL does help but that does not mean that we should go extreme.