4 Reasons to Use Short URLs | SEO | Blog

There are hundreds of factors that decide where websites show up on search engine results pages (SERPs). High placement and great content keep visitors coming back. Many require an investment of time and effort, so factors that can be addressed quickly are invaluable. Read on to find out why short URLs are an easy win for SEO. Keeping URLs short can boost your website’s effectiveness Better User Experience Higher SEO Ranking Easier Sharing Smoother Website Management Short URLs build trust between your brand and your customer. Search engine algorithms prefer websites with shorter URLs. People are more likely to share shorter URLs. Shorter URLs make editing and expanding websites less complicated. Customizing URLs lets visitors know what to expect from your page, which is why Google recommends using words that can be read and understood by humans rather than ID numbers or symbols. Spammy URLs often include jumbled letters and numbers and unrecognizable paths, whereas short, precise URLs signal to visitors that the page was written by a real human and has real value. Clickthrough rates are much higher on pages that users trust and recognize - Visitors are more likely to click on something like https://example.com/best-haircare-products than https://example.com/29f1209s85/blog/39205&id=24 While URL length is not defined as an official factor in page ranking, shorter URLs make it easier for search engines to crawl web pages and are linked to official factors like complexity, repetition of words, and number of subfolders. In a 2016 study performed by Backlinko, 1 million search results were analyzed to find correlations between website factors and ranking. A strong connection between short URLs and page position on Google emerged. The average characters in high-ranking URLs began at 50 and increased steadily from there as search ranking dropped. A good URL length is around 50-60 characters. There is a reason that URL shorteners like TinyURL have become popular. Long, unruly URLs are a burden to share, especially on platforms like Twitter that have character limits. Keeping your URLs short and descriptive encourages users to post and message without requiring extra steps between enjoying content and sharing with friends. In addition to Google’s recommendation to keep a simple URL structure for SEO reasons when building websites, website management becomes much easier with shorter URLs. As more pages are added to a site, organization becomes important. Both front and backend users will have an easier time navigating the site if pages are succinctly identified in the URLs, especially as categories and sections are added.