Maximum length of a URL for good SEO?
-
Hi there,
We have a content database as part of our site and I noticed that the way the database is loaded with new content, it means that the URL’s for these pages are really long, around 100 characters or sometimes more
http://www.xxxyy.org/knowledge-base/documents/word1-word2-word3-word4-word5-word6-word7-word8
Is there a suggted maximum character length for a URL? Kind of like for title tag where I max out at 69…
Should I truncate the URL’s or at least reduce the numbers of words in them to something less spammy? Does that make a difference?
Thanks!
-
That would be a serious long tail.
-
The longest functional URL that Google will crawl and index is approximately 1855 characters. There are other limits in place from various browsers and other search engines. In short, the technical limitations on URL length far exceed any reasonable usage.
So the only question is the subjective nature of your question's reference to "good seo". On this point I'll agree with Theo. Keep your URL as short as possible while describing the target's content.
If you desire a long analytical discussion on this topic: http://seocollege.org/news/?p=8869
-
There isn't really a maximum or optimal length to a URL (well, technically it is 2048 characters [http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/misc/urllength.html], but I don't think that was the kind of limit you were refering too).
In general it is a good idea to keep the URL as short as possible, but at the same time try to include keywords in it that make it clear to both the user and the search engine what the article is about. As with many things in SEO: try to find the right balance.
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
-
Should I change my website urls?
We're translating our website in a few languages (FR / DE / JP) using subdirectories. So our website will have the following urls www.brand.com/en
On-Page Optimization | | dcalexandra
www.brand.com/fr
www.brand.com/de
www.brand.com/jp I would like to change the url structure of a few pages from www.brand.com/section/feature-name to www.brand.com/feature-name Is it a good idea to do this now since we're adding the subfolders and these are anyway new urls in google's eyes?0 -
Strange URL resulting a page
Hi, my friend has asked me to take a look at his site. I only know the basics of SEO so I'm learning along the way. He has some duplicate title errors showing in Moz, resulting to this page: https://www.domainname.com/about/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers/money-transfers This URL shows the 'About' page. I have tonnes of pages like this showing with really long URLs that result an actual page. Has anyone seen something like this before? I don't have a clue how this is showing the about page Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks James
On-Page Optimization | | Craze_Media0 -
Harms of hidden categories on SEO
On our website we have some invisible/hidden categories on our site. Can anyone advise whether these are harmful in terms of SEO?
On-Page Optimization | | CostumeD0 -
Page authority 1 for new URLs
Hi There Quite a beginner question. I have changed url structure last week and is already avaliable on google.What i find strange is that the PA reported by SEOMOZ is 1 and there's no google cache. If the page has to crawled yet, why it's avaliable on google index already? Dario
On-Page Optimization | | Mrlocicero0 -
Long Url but makes no sense
Hi Just joined. Crawl states that I am getting a lot of errors, looks like the spider is getting confused and looping back on itself ? Is there a way to see where the crawl was formulated (ie where from) ? It is generating urls like: http://www.wickman.net.au/wineauction/wine_auction_alert.aspx/auction/auction/auction/auction/auction/auction/Default.aspx from http://www.wickman.net.au/wineauction/wine_auction_alert.aspx
On-Page Optimization | | blinkybill0 -
Latest SEO Factors
What is the most recent report you have for "factors" that impact SEO --- you guys had one a few years ago and I don't see a recent report. This was based on a panel of experts I believe.
On-Page Optimization | | mommybu0 -
URL length... is >115 now >255?
I've been having detailed discussions with a CMS provider on behalf of a client. Long URLs are the least of their problems however, the developer is arguing that Google has amended their algorithm and will now read URLs that are up to 255 characters long. I have stated that as far as I am aware, Google will still not read URLs over 115 characters... Before I stamp my feet, can someone confirm what is actually happening? SEOmoz still classes URLs >115 characters long as an amber issue. Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Switch_Digital0 -
Keywords in URL:
what kind of URL should we use? www.keyword.net/keyword-city or www.keyword.net/city which URL you would prefer?
On-Page Optimization | | alibeef0