Best Permalink Structure For SEO: Optimise Your URLs

When it comes to optimising your website for search engines, every little detail matters—including your permalink structure. As we focus on improving our websites’ visibility in search results, one of the most effective yet often overlooked elements is how our URLs are structured. A well-crafted SEO permalink can improve not only our site’s rankings but also its usability for visitors. 

Where digital competition is fierce, ensuring that we have the best permalink structure for SEO is more important than ever. Whether we are running an e-commerce website, a local blog, or a corporate landing page, the right permalink structure can make a noticeable difference in how we rank on Google and how our users navigate our sites. In this guide, we’ll dive into the best practices for optimising our URLs to achieve better SEO results.

What is a Permalink in SEO?

A permalink is the permanent URL to a specific web page or blog post. It serves as the web address for content and ensures that, once a page is published, it can be accessed via that same URL indefinitely. For example, if you run a local business in Singapore, the permalink might look like this:

https://www.yoursite.com/your-business-singapore

It’s important to optimise permalinks not just for readability and usability, but also for search engine visibility. A well-structured URL can help search engines better understand the content of a page, while a poorly structured one can negatively impact your SEO efforts.

Best Permalink Structure for SEO: Key Considerations

1. Keep It Simple and Clear

The best permalink structure for SEO is one that is easy to read and understand. A straightforward URL allows both search engines and users to grasp the content of the page immediately. For instance, if you’re running a Singapore-based blog post about “best hawker food,” a simple and clear permalink would be:

https://www.yoursite.com/best-hawker-food-singapore

Here, the URL directly informs both the reader and search engines what the content is about, making it more likely to rank for relevant queries like “best hawker food Singapore.”

2. Use Keywords in Permalinks

Including relevant keywords in your permalinks can significantly improve your SEO. For example, if you are running an SEO agency in Singapore, the best SEO permalink for your service page could be:

https://www.yoursite.com/seo-agency-singapore

By including the keyword “SEO agency Singapore” in your URL, you’re telling search engines exactly what the page is about, which increases the likelihood of ranking well for that keyword.

3. Avoid Special Characters and Unnecessary Parameters

It’s best to avoid using special characters such as question marks (?), ampersands (&), or equals signs (=) in your permalinks. These characters can confuse both search engines and users, making the URL look cluttered and difficult to interpret. A clean URL, free of unnecessary parameters, is always better for SEO.

For example, compare https://www.yoursite.com/?p=12345 with https://www.yoursite.com/seo-permalink-best-structure

The latter is far more SEO-friendly as it contains relevant keywords, while the former has no context for search engines.

4. Use Hyphens, Not Underscores

When separating words in your permalinks, always use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_). Search engines like Google treat hyphens as word separators, but underscores are not treated as such. For example:

https://www.yoursite.com/best-seo-permalink is better than https://www.yoursite.com/best_seo_permalink

The former is easier for search engines to interpret and ranks better.

5. Maintain URL Length and Avoid Overcomplicating

URLs that are too long or overly complex can be detrimental to your SEO. A long URL with multiple unnecessary words or folders may look suspicious to both search engines and users. Keep your URLs concise but descriptive, aiming for a length that clearly communicates the content without being excessively long. For instance:

Instead of https://www.yoursite.com/2024/11/06/the-best-permalink-structure-for-seo-in-singapore-and-why-you-should-care-about-it

A better option would be https://www.yoursite.com/best-permalink-structure-for-seo-singapore

6. Use a Consistent URL Structure Across Your Website

It’s important to maintain consistency in your permalink structure throughout your website. Whether you use a category-based structure, date-based structure, or something else, it’s crucial that every page follows the same format. This helps maintain organisation and makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site.

Example of a consistent URL structure for a blog:

• https://www.yoursite.com/category/food/
• https://www.yoursite.com/category/technology/
• https://www.yoursite.com/category/travel/

Example: Location-Based Permalink for SEO

If you run a location-based website offering services or products, consider using a permalink structure that is SEO-friendly and clearly aligned with your local audience. For example:

Good permalink:
https://www.yoursite.com/digital-marketing-singapore
This permalink is short, clear, and includes the main keyword: “digital marketing Singapore.”

Bad permalink:
https://www.yoursite.com/category/uncategorized/article_123456
This type of URL doesn’t provide any useful information to search engines or users and would not be effective for SEO.

The Bottom Line: Best Permalink Structure for SEO

The best permalink structure for SEO should be simple, clear, and descriptive, while also integrating relevant keywords. For websites based in location, this means crafting URLs that are easy for both locals and search engines to understand. By keeping your permalinks concise and keyword-focused, you’ll improve both your search engine ranking and user experience.

To recap, the best permalink structure for SEO:

• Be simple and descriptive.
• Use relevant keywords.
• Avoid unnecessary parameters and special characters.
• Be consistent throughout the website.
• Include hyphens to separate words.

By following these best practices, you will help your website rank better in search engines and improve user navigation, ultimately driving more traffic to your site.

Conclusion

Choosing the best permalink structure for SEO is a key step in boosting both our rankings and user experience. By following the right guidelines—such as keeping URLs clean, incorporating relevant keywords, and avoiding unnecessary characters—we can ensure our websites are both user-friendly and search engine-friendly.

For location-based websites, it’s especially crucial to tailor our SEO permalinks to meet both local and global search standards. As we continue to refine our SEO strategies, having an optimised permalink structure will help set our websites apart in the highly competitive digital landscape. Remember, small adjustments in URL structure can yield big rewards in terms of SEO performance. By prioritising SEO permalink best practices, we can enhance our visibility, attract more organic traffic, and improve overall site success.

Ref:

https://moz.com/community/q/topic/63558/best-permalinks-for-seo-custom-structure-vs-postname
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/url-structure