SEO-friendly URLs are web addresses that are search engine optimized and easy for users to understand. Appropriately crafted URLs improve the chances of higher search rankings and make it easier to navigate and share content. When selecting or designing a content management system, you should thoroughly examine how it generates URLs. Many legacy systems create URLs inefficiently, negatively affecting a site’s visibility in search engines.

To start, let’s talk about the essential points that friendly URLs should meet to be liked by (not only) search engines.

So, let’s start with the HTTPS protocol.

HTTPS protocol and data encryption

As you probably know, the HTTPS protocol serves as a so-called ranking signal, which means that sites on HTTPS have a better chance of ranking higher in search results. Addresses on the legacy HTTP protocol should be redirected using 301 permanent redirections and should be the standard for all websites today; thus, we can’t imagine a friendly URL without it.

This protocol provides an encrypted connection that protects the user from data eavesdropping. That is, before someone unauthorizedly intercepts sensitive information, such as passwords, personal information, or payment details, in transit between the user and the server. HTTPS thus significantly increases the credibility of a website not only for visitors but also for search engines. In addition, the security certificate (SSL/TLS) that HTTPS uses is visible directly in the browser address bar – the presence of a “lock” indicates that the connection is secure.

The use of HTTPS has become so crucial that Google officially designates it as a ranking signal. Sites without HTTPS can be disadvantaged in search results, and modern browsers even warn visitors against entering insecure sites, which can cause a loss of trust and traffic.

Switching from HTTP to HTTPS is a relatively simple process that requires deploying a security certificate and proper redirection settings. During implementation, it is essential to ensure that all URLs of the old protocol are permanently redirected using a 301 code to their HTTPS versions. This will ensure continuity in search engine ranking and avoid duplicate content issues.

HTTPS is, therefore, not just a technical detail but a cornerstone that should be at the heart of every modern website – both in terms of security and SEO optimization. Without it, we can’t talk about an SEO-friendly approach to URL creation.

URLs with and without WWW
Every website operator should choose whether to use the subdomain “www” in the address or not and redirect the second option to the preferred one. This step is essential from an SEO point of view because if the content of the site is located on both versions of the address (with and without “www”), duplicate content would be created. Duplicate content, similar to the difference between “https://” and “http://,” “would negatively affect the site’s search engine ranking because the same content would be available at two different URLs.

Slashes at the end of URLs – an important detail

Similar to the use of addresses with and without “www” the use of slashes at the end of URLs needs to be standardized. This is because search engines consider addresses with and without slashes as two different addresses, even if they lead to the same content. So, if you don’t solve this problem, duplicate content may occur again.

For example, these addresses are different from the point of view of the search engines:

• https://www.krcmic.com/page
• https://www.krcmic.com/page/
• https://krcmic.com/page
• https://krcmic.com/page/

If both versions lead to the same content, a 301 redirect should redirect one version to the other. This will ensure all visits and search engine rankings are directed to a single address.

Why bother with any SEO-friendly URLs at all?

1. Greater effectiveness in SEO – duplicate content can split a page’s authority in search engines, weakening its overall ranking.
2. Uniform ranking – related to the above – search engines will have no problem assigning traffic, backlinks, and other signals to just one preferred version.
3. User-friendliness – a uniform address structure is more precise and helps build user trust.

Parametric URLs vs. classic URLs

Using parametric URLs is often the easiest solution for programmers, which is why this solution is widespread in older content management systems. Parametric URLs contain specific parameters (highlighted in brown below) that allow you to generate page content dynamically. For example, such a URL might look like this:

https://example.com/index.php?cat=faq&cont=421&lang=cz

As you can see, this URL is not very clear or user-friendly, although it is not a significant problem from an SEO point of view. Search engines, such as Google, are able to crawl and index such pages if the number of parameters is not too high. However, Google does not specify the exact number of parameters, which could be a problem.

Parametric URLs can be similarly effective from an SEO perspective as URLs without parameters, for example:
https://example.com/en/faq/421.php

However, studies suggest that classic URLs without parameters are more successful in search results. Friendly and uncluttered URLs not only improve the user experience but also appear more trustworthy and can improve search engine click-through rates (CTR). Therefore, it is advisable to prefer creating addresses without parameters if possible.

URL parameters that create duplicates

The above rule has one exception – URL parameters must not create duplicate content. This may occur in the following cases:

• The same content is displayed on a page with a different order of URL parameters. In this case, it is necessary to define a particular order of parameters and redirect them to the defined version of the URL if they are in a different order.
• The same content is displayed even if the URL parameter is present or absent. Suppose the URL parameter does not affect the content of the page and is unnecessary in the URL (for example, a remnant of an old function). In that case, we can redirect to the version of the URL without the parameter. However, if the parameter must be preserved, we must ensure the URL is canonicalized. Once the search engines have noticed this canonicalization, we can also disable crawling of the URL parameter in the robots.txt file.

Keywords in the URL

This area is crucial for SEO. URLs containing keywords are still considered more SEO-friendly. However, their importance is not as strong today because they are easily influenced by site creators, especially in the domain of the site. Nevertheless, they still carry some weight. To be effective, I recommend following these guidelines:

• Keywords must be relevant
  You should not include keywords in the URL that are not related to the page’s content, do not appear in the text, and have no thematic relevance. Search engines can easily recognize the context and relationships between words and phrases, including synonyms.
• Use as few keywords as possible.
  The fewer keywords you use, the more weight each one will carry. Keywords dilute each other, which applies to URLs and page titles or headings. Ideally, a URL should contain no more than four keywords. Using five or six is possible, but it’s already on the edge.
• Omit stop words
  Stop words are words that appear frequently in English but have no meaning of their own, such as prepositions or conjunctions. They should generally be omitted from URLs unless they are necessary for context.
• Edit keywords
  Once you have your keywords selected, remove the diacritics (commas and periods), convert them to lowercase (which is a common practice on the Internet), and remove any non-alphanumeric characters (such as #, @, %, etc.). Only letters and numbers remain.
• Separate keywords with a hyphen
  Separate keywords in the URL with hyphens, for example: /en/subdirectory/main-keyword-phrase.php. If you use an underscore instead of a hyphen, the search engine will consider the entire phrase as one word. Hyphens allow search engines to identify individual words better.
• Think about the context of the search.
  The “fewest keywords” rule has an exception. URLs are displayed in search results, and if a site doesn’t use structured data for breadcrumb navigation, it may make sense to add another word to the URL. This can reassure users that the page contains content relevant to their search. Thus, the URL can be another place to increase your click-through rate from search.

Directories in the URL

Directories in a URL are the sections that follow the domain name but precede the name of a specific page:

https://example.com/glossary/term.php

In the past, when websites used to be made up of static pages and were not generated by content management systems, directories in URLs allowed website creators to organize files better. Today, however, in many cases, the directory path in the URL makes no sense and can even lead to other problems.

A typical example is e-shops that use directories in URLs to display the structure of the site. For example, a product might have an address in the format /category/product-name.php. But what if you want to move this product to another category? Or if you rename the category? In that case, the URL will change, and you will have to deal with redirection. This is an unnecessary complication.

On the other hand, if such changes occur and people come to the original address, for example, from a previous mailing or bookmarked the page, they won’t find the product anymore. The search engines will consider this page as a new one, which may mean the loss of all previous backlinks. And that’s a situation you definitely want to avoid.

URL length and file endings

The shorter the URL, the better the page ranks in search. If you don’t use parameters and directories as recommended above, how can you make the URL even shorter?

Another way to shorten a URL is to change the file extension. For example, endings like .htm, .php, .asp, etc., Are historical relics from the static website era and should not be in SEO-friendly URLs. Previously, the server used to use these endings to determine whether it should just load the page from the directory or whether it still had to process it. However, this is no longer necessary for dynamic websites.

In addition to SEO benefits, shorter URLs have other practical advantages. Such an address is easier to write down and remember, which is beneficial not only for users but also for marketing purposes. If the URL does not contain unnecessary endings or complex directory structures, it is also less likely to contain typos when manually typed into the address bar, for example (and thus, the user does not end up on a 404 page as with a typo). This improves the user experience and minimizes the risk of broken links. Shorter URLs can also increase click-through rates as they are more visually appealing and appear more trustworthy than long and complex addresses.

User Friendly URLs

There are studies that confirm that shorter and easier-to-understand URLs, known as “user-friendly” URLs, make people more willing to share on social media. This practice can bring traffic from Facebook or Twitter and backlinks that count towards a site’s link profile and impact SEO.

Another factor that can complicate addresses is UTM metrics. Even if search engines ignore them, they can make URLs long, cluttered, and difficult to display in emails or discussion forums. Therefore, after saving the measurements in Google Analytics or another tool, these parameters should be automatically removed from the URL, as this site also does.

This is similar to the fbclid parameter, which Facebook automatically adds to all clicks from its site. It is essential to ensure that the editorial system automatically redirects users to an address without this parameter.

Permanent URL

One of the most important recommendations is that SEO-friendly URLs should be permanent. This means that you should not change them even when redesigning the site or moving content. In some cases, it may make sense to break some of the above recommendations rather than having to change the URL.

Even if the new site is running on a completely different technology, it’s not a problem to set up a redirect for the old URL format using the .htaccess file. And yes, programmers often claim that it’s not possible – because it’s easier for them to do so – but it can actually be done.