Keywords in URL: sub-directory or single layer keywords?
-
Hi guys,
im putting together a proposal for a new site and trying to figure out if it'd be better to (A) have a keyword split across multiple directories or duplicate keywords to have the keyword hyphenated?
For example, for the topic of "Christmas decor" would you use;
(A) - www.domain.com/Christmas/Decor
(B) - www.domain.com/Christmas/Christmas-Decor
in example B the phrase 'Christmas' is duplicated which looks a little spammy, but the key term "Christmas decor" is in the URL without being broken up by directories.
which is stronger? Any advice welcome! Thanks guys!
-
When you're setting up a URL structure, we recommend setting up the URLs (folders/directories, etc.) so that it matches the hierarchy of the site. In the example you gave: www.domain.com/Christmas/Decor you would typically have a Christmas section of your site and then a Decor section.
But, if you have a Decor section (some that is not Christmas decor but maybe includes other types of decor), then the decor section as listed above wouldn't fit in properly. It could be like this: www.domain.com/Decor/Christmas-Decor/ and then you could actually also have a Christmas section, as well. It's possible that your Christmas products might list all of your Christmas products and the Christmas/decor/ section would then include the Christmas decor section.
Look at what sections of your site that you've created--and then the URLs should closely match those sections and that site hierarchy.
-
Hi,
I would suggest using the first option (/christmas/decor). Google and other search engines would understand that "decor" page is about Christmas Decor, as you are using "christmas" subfolder as a parent of "decor" page.
Hope this helps!
Dima,
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
-
What to do when on your keyword there are no questions ?
Let me give me you an example. For example for the keyword title tag (let's imagine) I would want to rank on that. I go to the keyword explorer or related searches at the bottom of google there are many questions people have.. I find expressions (with the same user intent) such as "title tag length", "title tags generator", " "why are title tag importants" (I found this one using the are questions drop down menu of the keyword explorer). With this in hand I can create a page where I answer all those questions. I would have all those expressions being an H2 and answer the questions using related phrases and context word that I will find with the keyword explorer in my paragraph below. Let now take one of my keyword "Sicily bike tours". If I type this expression int he keyword explorer...the only related phrases (with the same user intent) that I find are "Sicily bike tour", "Sicily cycling tours", "Sicily bike trips"... (first thing I noticed is that it is just variation of my main expression not really question...). If I look at questions I find "what is the highest elevation in Sicily" or "How safe is Sicily for tourists". I don't imagine on a page that sells bikes tours in Sicily having h2 tags that answers those questions... and this is not what people that rank do, they describe their tour and this is what is confusing to me. Let's now take a secondary related keyword to main keyword. Let' s take "Sicily cycling tours" (it is a secondary related keyword to "Sicily bike tours". Based on the keyword explorer, the secondary related phrases to "Sicily cycling tours" are "tour of Sicily". "trips to Sicily".... ( isn't that going to be boring and look unnatural to use all those expressions ? ). There are all synonyms of my expression but not really different which is my worry ? Or can I use an expression such as "Sicilian villages" or "Sicily maps" even though they don't have the same user intent) as my secondary related keyword "Sicily cycling tours". Thank you,
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | seoanalytics0 -
Swapping page keyword?
If we have swopped the keyword (leaflet printing) from this page http://www.fastprint.co.uk/leaflet-flyer-printing/ and moved it to http://www.fastprint.co.uk/ But the inner page is still ranking for the keyword is there a way to tell Google?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BobAnderson0 -
Ranking Above sub-domains
So I work for a company that has a very successful affiliate that operates under a third level domain name such as "region.company.com". Their SEO practices are very good and they rank highly in keyword searches. However "company.com" does not even though it is not a subdomain. Even after optimizing the company.com's pages etc, the regional sub domain ranks much higher for keywords and the main company fails to rank at all. Is Google discounting the main company's page? Is it a matter of trust or time? or is it something else? How can I get Google to prioritize the main company website rather than a lower level domain affiliate?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Resolute0 -
Showing on page 25 for url keyword/ brand, is it a penalty?
Hi I have a site which shows on page 25 in G serps for the main brand keyword which is also the url its a .com and as far as I can see has no penalties and has unique content. The keyword itself has no competition and the site should be no1 in G for it. Our site domain is 11 years old.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MoneySite0 -
Internal links and URL shortners
Hi guys, what are your thoughts using bit.ly links as internal links on blog posts of a website? Some posts have 4/5 bit.ly links going to other pages of our website (noindexed pages). I have nofollowed them so no seo value is lost, also the links are going to noindexed pages so no need to pass seo value directly. However what are your thoughts on how Google will see internal links which have essential become re-direct links? They are bit.ly links going to result pages basically. Am I also to assume the tracking for internal links would also be better using google analytics functionality? is bit.ly accurate for tracking clicks? Any advice much appreciated, I just wanted to double check this.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | pauledwards0 -
URL structure for categories, sub categories and products
Hi, I'm looking for some advice about URL hierarchy and the best way to structure URLs for SEO with regards to categories, sub categories and product pages. The way the site is set up displays the URLs as such, example: 1. /badge-accessories/ 2. /badge-accessories/plastic-wallets/ 3. /badge-accessories/plastic-wallets/clear-flexible-wallets/ I am questioning whether it would be best to keep it like this (which the site developers are suggesting) or change to something like: 1. /badge-accessories/ 2. /plastic-wallets/ 3. /clear-plastic-flexible-wallets/ Or something like: 1. /badge-accessories/ 2. /plastic-wallets/ 3. /plastic-wallets/clear-flexible-wallets/ Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Kerry_Jones0 -
Bolding Keywords
A client has just switched from us to another provider and I have been checking up on the work done and the only change they have made is to bold lots of keywords on each page - I thought this was a practice that did not work - is there any evidence of this working or not working? Any articles/proof that we are not using out dated practices as we stopped doing this ages ago and yet the new provider is doing this. Who is right or wrong?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | JohnW-UK0 -
Expired urls
For a large jobs site, what would be the best way to handle job adverts that are no longer available? Ideas that I have include: Keep the url live with the original content and display current similar job vacancies below - this has the advantage of continually growing the number of indexed pages. 301 redirect old pages to parent categories - this has the advantage of concentrating any acquired link juice where it is most needed. Your thoughts much appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | cottamg0