Creating SEO-friendly URLs is crucial in improving your website’s search engine visibility and user experience. A well-structured, descriptive, and keyword-rich URL can significantly boost your click-through rates and help your content rank higher in search results. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create SEO friendly URLs, break down the anatomy of a URL, and provide SEO friendly URL examples to illustrate best practices.

What Are SEO Friendly URLs?

SEO-friendly URLs are web addresses intended to be understandable by both search engines and humans. These URLs often contain relevant keywords or phrases that correctly represent the webpage’s content. They are typically short, descriptive, and easy to read. By learning how to make SEO friendly URLs, you help both users and search engines understand the topic of a page before even clicking on it.

Anatomy of a URL

Before diving into how to optimise a URL for SEO, it’s essential to understand the different components that make up a URL. Each part plays a role in determining your website’s SEO performance.

1. Protocol

The protocol defines how your browser communicates with the website’s server. The most common protocols are:

• http:// – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
• https:// – Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (with encryption)

Today, https:// is the standard for all modern websites, especially those that handle sensitive user data. Using HTTPS protects your users and contributes to better SEO rankings, as Google favours secure websites.

2. Domain Name

The domain name is the core identity of your website. It’s what users type into the browser to access your site.

Example: www.ecochic.com

Your domain should be:

• Short and memorable
• Relevant to your brand or content
• Easy to spell and pronounce

For instance, if you run a sustainable fashion business, “ecochic.com” communicates your brand ethos and helps you reach your target audience effectively.

3. Subdomain

A subdomain is a prefix added to your main domain to organise your content.

Example: blog.example.com, shop.example.com

Subdomains help divide your website into logical sections, which can benefit both user experience and SEO. They can be used for:

• Blogs
• Online stores
• Support centres
• Country-specific content

Subdomains are useful when targeting different audiences or languages and can be optimised individually.

4. Subfolder

A subfolder (also called a directory) is used to structure content within your main domain.

Example: www.example.com/products/clothing

Subfolders are excellent for creating a hierarchy within your site. They signal to search engines how your content is structured and can help with keyword targeting.

Use subfolders to:

• Categorise blog posts
• Segment product types
• Group services by themes

Proper use of subfolders contributes to organised site architecture and enhances SEO and navigation.

5. Slug

The slug is the last part of a URL and identifies a specific page.

Example:

In the URL www.example.com/blog/how-to-make-a-delicious-cake, the slug is how-to-make-a-delicious-cake.

A good slug:

• Clearly describes the page content
• Includes relevant keywords
• Avoids unnecessary words, special characters, or numbers

When learning how to create SEO friendly URLs, optimising your slug is one of the most impactful steps. The slug helps search engines and users understand what your page is about, increasing visibility and relevance.

Why Are SEO Friendly URLs Important in SEO?

Understanding how to make an SEO friendly URL is essential because URLs impact various aspects of your website’s performance:

1. Improved User Experience

SEO Friendly URLs enhance the user experience by providing clear, meaningful links that reflect the content of the page. Users are more likely to click on URLs they trust and understand, which increases engagement and reduces bounce rates.

Example:

✅ www.example.com/recipes/vegan-pasta

❌ www.example.com/page?id=123

The first URL instantly tells the user what to expect, while the second creates confusion.

2. Enhanced Crawlability and Indexing

Search engines rely on URLs to determine the relevance of a webpage. A clean, descriptive URL helps search engine bots understand your page’s topic and structure.

Optimising URLs can:

• Make crawling more efficient
• Improve indexation rates
• Help your site rank for relevant keywords

Learning how to optimise a URL for SEO is one of the easiest ways to improve your website’s visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs).

3. Better Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Descriptive URLs that include target keywords often get more clicks from search results. When users see a relevant URL, they’re more likely to trust it and choose your page over others.

This is particularly important when your title and meta description are similar to competitors. A good URL can be the deciding factor for a user’s click.

How to Create SEO Friendly URLs

1. Use Keywords in URLs

Including keywords in your URLs is a smart SEO strategy because it tells users and search engines what the page is about. Just like you include important keywords in your page’s title tag and headings, you should also use relevant terms in the URL.

Why it matters:

• Improves search visibility: Search engines like Google look at the URL to understand the page content. If the URL contains keywords that match a user’s search query, that page is more likely to rank higher.
• Helps users: A keyword-rich URL is easier to read and gives users a clear idea of what they’ll find on the page.
• Boosts relevance: Keywords in the URL reinforce the page’s overall topic, supporting the content and improving SEO performance.

Tip: You don’t need to stuff many keywords—1 to 2 important keywords are usually enough.

✅ Example:

Bad URL: www.example.com/page?id=12345

This gives no context to users or search engines.

Good URL:

www.example.com/seo-friendly-urls

This tells users and search engines that the page is about SEO-friendly URLs.

You can also include long-tail keywords (specific, less competitive phrases) to attract more targeted traffic.

2. Adjust URL Length

The length of your URL matters for both usability and SEO. While it may be tempting to include full titles or lots of descriptive words, long URLs can hurt your SEO performance.

Why short URLs are better:

• Easier for search engines to crawl: Google prefers shorter, cleaner URLs because they’re easier to understand and categorize.
• Better user experience: Users are more likely to click on, remember, and share short URLs. Long URLs with unnecessary words or characters can be confusing or intimidating.
• Improves site-wide crawlability: If your entire site uses concise, well-structured URLs, search engines will be able to discover and index your pages more effectively.

Best practice:

• Keep URLs simple and direct.
• Remove unnecessary stop words (like “and,” “the,” “of”) unless they help with clarity.

✅ Example:

Too Long:

www.example.com/how-to-create-an-seo-friendly-url-that-ranks-higher-on-google

This is overly detailed and hard to share.

Better: 

www.example.com/seo-friendly-url-tips

This is short, clear, and still conveys the topic.

3. Use Hyphens to Separate Words

When creating SEO-friendly URLs, use hyphens to separate words as a standard. Hyphens improve readability for users and search engines, making the uniform resource locator easier to interpret and more aligned with best practices in search engine optimization.

✅ Example:

• Good: www.example.com/seo-friendly-url
• Bad: www.example.com/seofriendlyurl

Google recommends using hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) because it treats hyphens as space separators. This way, your web page URL is parsed into meaningful relevant keywords, helping it rank higher in search engine rankings.

4. Avoid Keyword Stuffing in URLs

While including keywords is essential, overusing them—known as keyword stuffing—can hurt your SEO. A keyword-stuffed URL looks spammy, confuses users, and can even be penalized by search engines.

✅ Example:

• Bad: www.example.com/seo-seo-seo-friendly-url-tips
• Good: www.example.com/seo-friendly-url-tips

Stick to one or two relevant keywords that accurately reflect your page content. A clean, concise URL is more trustworthy and easier to remember—leading to more organic traffic and better search engine optimization outcomes.

5. Stick to a Consistent URL Structure

A consistent URL structure across your site simplifies navigation and helps search engines understand how your web pages relate to each other.

✅ Example:

If your site has blog categories like SEO and Web Design, follow a pattern like:

• www.example.com/blog/seo/seo-friendly-urls
• www.example.com/blog/web-design/responsive-design-tips

This kind of logical hierarchy not only improves user experience but also supports better crawling and indexing, which can help your site rank higher in SERPs.

Use clean subfolders, avoid unnecessary parameters, and ensure your URLs follow a standard format to aid users and search engines.

6. Use HTTPS and a Clear Top-Level Domain

Your URL’s protocol and top-level domain (TLD) also impact SEO. Use HTTPS to encrypt your site and protect user data, as it’s now a confirmed ranking factor. Google favours secure websites, and users are more likely to trust them.

Choose a TLD that fits your audience—.com, .org, or country-specific domains like .com.au—to boost your credibility and localization.

✅ Example:

• Good: https://www.example.com
• Less ideal: http://www.example.biz (less secure and possibly less trusted)

Your domain and TLD work together to present a trustworthy and professional presence, increasing your chances of attracting organic traffic.

7. Use Redirects Wisely (301 Redirects)

When you change a URL, use a 301 redirect to inform search engines that the old URL has permanently moved to a new one. This helps preserve your existing search engine rankings and prevents users from encountering 404 errors (page not found).

✅ Example:

If your old URL was:

www.example.com/seo-url-guide-old

And you change it to:

www.example.com/seo-friendly-url-guide

Make sure a 301 redirect is in place.

This is a critical part of optimizing URL structures—especially during site migrations or rebranding—so that you don’t lose traffic or authority built up over time.

8. Fix and Avoid 404 Errors

Broken URLs that lead to 404 errors harm user experience and SEO. They can negatively affect how search engines crawl your website, interrupt user journeys, and reduce organic traffic.

Best practices:

• Monitor your site regularly using tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog.
• Fix broken internal links promptly.
• Always redirect old URLs to relevant updated pages using 301 redirects.

Maintaining clean, functional URLs helps keep your site healthy and supports higher search engine rankings.

Conclusion: Build Smarter URLs for Better SEO Results

Creating SEO-friendly URLs is a foundational aspect of building a high-performing website. When your URLs are short, keyword-rich, well-structured, and easy to understand for users and search engines, you create a strong framework that supports your entire SEO strategy.

Well-optimized URLs enhance your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic by improving user experience and crawlability.

🔍 Let DigiFix Handle Your SEO the Smart Way

If you’re unsure where to start or want to take your SEO to the next level, DigiFix can help. As a leading digital marketing agency in Melbourne, we specialise in comprehensive SEO strategies—from creating SEO friendly URLs and technical SEO audits to content optimisation and advanced link building.

Whether launching a new site or looking to rank higher in search results, our expert team ensures that every part of your website, including your uniform resource locators, works seamlessly to drive visibility and conversions.

Let’s make your website work smarter. Contact DigiFix today to learn more about our SEO services.