May 16, 2025
Websites that use SEO-friendly URLs or permalinks rank higher in search results. Search engines care about user experience and grasp the URL more easily.
An SEO-friendly URL should be relevant, include your target keyword, describe what the page is about, use hyphens rather than underscores, and be easy to read. Ideally, it shouldn’t have any dates in it, especially years, because it becomes dated.
The website should have an SSL certificate for a permalink to be SEO-friendly. This is indicated by a padlock next to the URL. Finally, it can include a customized element.
What are permalinks? Permalink is another word for URL or a link in WordPress, shortened for permanent links.
Optimal permalink structure makes sharing your content easier and increases click-through rates. Using numbers, symbols, and special characters makes it harder for search engines and users to grasp the page’s content.
The most important element is the target keyword. This is what people type into a search engine to find your page. By having it in the permalink, you’ll potentially rank for it in search results. If you haven’t decided on a target keyword, just use words that are most relevant to your content.
Even if you update content regularly, the permalink will reveal the date your material was first published.
If you already added the date, you can change your permalink. In the WordPress settings, go to Permalinks settings and change the name and day setting to Post name.
WordPress uses the traditional hyphen to separate words in the permalink. Underscores, on the other hand, blend in and are harder to read.
If your website is large, experts recommend categorizing your permalinks using WordPress-specific tags. If you have an e-commerce platform, for example, you can add the product category to your permalink to make it easier for visitors (and potential buyers) to see what type of products you have on your site.
You can edit a lot of permalink elements, not just the dates. In the settings section mentioned above, you can make your permalink shorter to include a keyword. Click on Update when you’ve finished editing.
It’s not safe to change the permalink structure if you’ve already published your post or page because it can be damaging to SEO and result in your search engine rankings declining. You’ll lose any backlinks you have, as well as referral traffic from users who’ve shared your content on social networks.
That’s unless you use 301 redirects to redirect old permalinks to new ones rather than edit them. This way, your rankings on Google won’t drop. Your visitors won’t get a 404 not found error or click on a competitor’s link.
The SEO-friendliest permalinks are short, include a target or at least a relevant keyword, clearly communicate the purpose of the page, and contain hyphens between words to make them easy to read. They also come with an SSL certificate.
Long links don’t encourage people to share content because they don’t look appealing in search engine results.
An SEO-friendly permalink is relevant, includes your target keyword, clearly describes the page's content, uses hyphens to separate words, and is easy for people to read. It should also avoid dates and be secured with an SSL certificate.
Including dates, especially years, in your permalinks can make your content seem old, even if you update it regularly. This might discourage users from clicking and can negatively affect your search engine rankings over time.
No, it is generally not safe to change a permalink after your post or page is live. Doing so can damage your SEO, causing you to lose valuable backlinks and referral traffic. If you need to change one, you must implement 301 redirects to ensure old links point to the new ones, preserving your rankings.
Attentionalways can assist your business with various aspects of digital marketing, including optimising your website's SEO. We can help you implement best practices, like crafting effective permalinks, to improve your search engine visibility and drive more traffic to your site.
If you manage a large website, especially an e-commerce platform, adding categories to your permalinks can be beneficial. It helps visitors, and potential buyers, quickly understand the type of content or products you offer, making your site easier to navigate.
