Do search engines look for keywords in the slug?
-
Is it OK to split a key phrase into a slug and file name, or should the entire key phrase be in the file name. For example, consider the following articles:
How to wash your car.
How to change a tire.How to replace a windshield wiper.Will search engines recognize the "how to" in the following taxonomy:
www.domain.com/how-to/wash-your-car/
www.domain.com/how-to/change-a-tire/
www.domain.com/how-to/replace-a-windshield-wiper/Or, should the "how-to" be included in the file name?
Best,Christopher
-
Search engines will definitely take your keywords in the slug into consideration whether in the folder or the file name but as Matt Cutts says long exact match file names can start to look a little spammy from a user experience perspective. If you keep your categories / subcategories in folder paths not only will your site appear easier to navigate for a user from SERPS but you will also find the site easier to manage and organise as your environment grows.
-
Search engines will recognize the keywords in both cases, also both are relevant and will serve you as a natural anchor, but for structural sake, better user experience and even SERP CTR, you should be better off including them in the folder structure. That way you'll be able to keep your URLs as short and descriptive as possible without sacrificing keywords in them.
Here's Matt Cutts answer on the subject:
Is it better to have keywords in the URL path or filename?
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
-
How specific do I have to be when adding keyword to the meta title which I am trying to rank for?
I am looking for some clarity on what exactly you need to spell out for google in the exact match and what google understands in terms of using keywords in your meta title which I am trying to rank for. For example if my category page is for women's top, with both printed and solid color options, would it be ok to write- "Women's Tops: Printed & Solid Shirts & Tunics" and be able to rank for women's tops, women's printed tops, women's solid shirts etc. or would I have to be more specific and use women's as the keyword modifier before each term and write- "Women's Tops, Women's Printed & Solid Shirts, Women's Tunics"?
On-Page Optimization | | whiteonlySEO0 -
Ideal number of keywords for a text
Hi there! I am trying to figure out what the ideal number of my queries per copy (400 words) would be. My queries are: lg dryer repair (volume search: 851-1k)
On-Page Optimization | | kirupa
lg washer repair (volume search: 851-1k)
lg appliance repair (volume search: 851-1k)
lg repair service (volume search: 501-850)
lg washing machine repair (volume search: 501-850)
lg dishwasher repair (volume search: 201-500)
lg appliance repair (volume search: 851-1k) How many times do you think I might use each of those quires? Is there any algorithm to figure that out? I would appreciate very much any thought you could share with me.0 -
Google Site Search & SEO benefits
Hi all - I've had a comb through the forums here but can't seem to find any updates on whether there any tangible benefits for using Google Site Search. We're currently exploring using Lucene, Oracle Endeca, & Google Site Search - but from what I've read so far there are no quantifiable benefits for choose Google over any others. Everything I've read is rumor-mill...anybody have experience or references? Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | kenno690 -
2 keyword title tag best format
I have a client that does ski and snowboard rentals in lake tahoe and not sure what the best way to optimize the home page title tag. Lake Tahoe Ski and Snowboard Rental
On-Page Optimization | | tahoemedia
Lake Tahoe Ski & Snowboard Rental
Ski & Snowboard Rental Lake Tahoe
Ski Rental | Snowboard Rental | Lake Tahoe Which one of these is the best or is it not even listed??? Thanks!0 -
Making a subdomain more search engine friendly?
I have a volusion website, and I cannot have a subdirectory, it must be a subdomain. Is there anything I can do to optimize this subdomain to make it more search engine friendly?
On-Page Optimization | | SKMEIS0 -
Proper way to change keywords without losing ranking
Hello Everyone, The website I am working with offers service in two locations, lets say Service in City A and Service in City B. Those two cities, which are close by, are the main source of clients, so the owner asked me to concentrate on these terms. I did a decent job for a newbie and now we are on the first page of google closer to the top for these 2 terms. The problem that I am facing right now is that a) it hard to get that extra bit from onsite optimization when you optimizing for 2 different cities b) Customers may get confused which cities we focus on A or B? We have locations in both. c) Owner wants to expand services to additional cities. So I looked at how our competitor handling these time of problem and most of them have a page with titles like "Cities we serve" with links to the individual locations that are optimized for the specific city. That page usually includes paragraph or two about local history and then re-span description of their services. Is it a good practice to structure one's website like that if you are trying to target multiple locations? Should I re-target my home page to something less geographically specific and create separate pages for Cities A , B and the new locations? Would I lose ranking for terms service in city A & service in city B because of that Or should I leave my home page optimized for Cities A & B and just add new locations as separate pages? Thanks in advance for you insights.
On-Page Optimization | | SirMax0 -
Keyword Repetition in Title Tag
I am managing an online pharmacy website which has thousands of pages. I'm creating title tags for the pages that currently have automated tags.
On-Page Optimization | | pulseseo
I generally choose a word, find the next best alternative and merge them in the title.
Often this results in repetition of 2-3 words. Examples below:-
Title:- Skincare Treatment, Buy Skincare Products Discounted at Online Pharmacy Title:- Nebulisers, Buy Nebulisers UK Discounted at Online Pharmacy Title:- Electronic Dictionaries, Buy Best Electronic Dictionaries Discounted at Online Pharmacy Title:- Cat Skin Care, Buy Cat Skin Care Products Discounted at Online Pharmacy Are these OK or would Google penalize us for it?0 -
Ranking on page 5 for a 1% difficulty keyword
Hello mozers, I am going crazy over this. I have designed a new site www.smh.cz. The company name / kw is unique (Smolikova Mikulas Hendrich), but it appears on page 5 on Google.
On-Page Optimization | | ilincev
Yahoo and Bing is fine (in top 3 positions). All the on-page factors are ok too.
All the smh.cz pages are indexed on Google. We have done a 301 redirect of two other domains (sm-legal.cz and smm-partners.cz) which were websites for the firms prior to forming a new one. I am scratching my head over what does Google dislike so much. Any thoughts? Can the smh.cz domain - which previously had some dodgy insurance content - be the reason? Your help is much appreciated. Ondrej0