What are SEO-friendly URLs and how to create them? Are you currently using search-engine-friendly URLs for your blog? Did you know that the default WordPress URL permalink system is not SEO-friendly?
It is a common mistake many beginners make when starting their first blog. Fortunately for you, it is a very easy fix and will help get you higher search engine rankings!
Before we continue, let’s talk about the difference between Dynamic and SEO-friendly URLs. Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Dynamic URL versus SEO-Friendly URL
By default, WordPress will use the dynamically generated number for your URL. To give you a better understanding of what that is. Here’s an image of what it looks like:
As you can see, the URL doesn’t give you any indication of what it’s leading you to. The same applies to when Google sends out their crawlers to figure out what your article is about.
Whereas an SEO-friendly URL will provide enough information for both humans and crawlers to determine what the article or page is about. Here’s an image of what an SEO-friendly URL looks like:
With this simple tweak, Google and other search engines should be able to figure out immediately what the article is about. That means you will have a higher chance of showing up in the search results compared to a blog using a dynamic URL.
How To Turn On SEO-Friendly URL
Turning on your SEO-friendly URL is as easy as 1-2-3.
First, you must log in to your WordPress Admin CP. Next, you’ll have to locate Settings > Permalinks and select Custom Structures. Once you’re done, simply save the changes!
While you’re doing this, you’ll notice that there are a few other options such as Plain, Day and name, Month and name, Numeric, and Post name.
I recommend the following: Date and name and Custom Structure.
Personally, I use the custom structure to display my domain name as well as the article’s name. You can do the same by adding the following in the insert box: /%postname
For my website hosting provider, the changes I make are updated instantly. However, if it’s not updating for you, you can try contacting the customer support department for your website hosting provider. Let them know about the changes you are making and have them update them.
Are you currently using an SEO-friendly URL? If you’re not, you should go change it now!
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