What is usually a SEO Friendly URL Structure in WordPress
Have you ever wondered what’s one of the most SEO friendly permalink structure in WordPress? We’re often asked this question by new users. That’s because before, the default WordPress URL structure wasn't SEO friendly in any respect. However that’s changed now. In this article, we'll explain WordPress SEO friendly URLs, and just how you can customize your WordPress permalinks.
SEO Robot What can be a SEO Friendly URL?
Before we go too deep into WordPress permalinks, it’s vital that we define what is really a SEO Friendly URL.
SEO Friendly URLs contain keywords that explain the content, and they’re easily readable by both humans and show off engines. They also boost your chances to rate higher from search engines.
Example of an SEO friendly URL:
http://www.wpbeginner.com/how-to-install-wordpress/
So just what does a non-SEO friendly URL appear to be?
http://www.wpbeginner.com/?p=10467
By default, WordPress now uses the post name inside URL which is by far the most SEO friendly URL structure.
So why is it that beginners still ask us for optimum permalink structure?
That’s because before, WordPress would not use pretty URLs also referred to as permalinks. The default had been the non-SEO friendly example that individuals shared above.
This was changed in WordPress 4.2. If you recently installed WordPress, after that your site URLs are SEO friendly.
You can certainly verify your permalink settings with your WordPress admin area. The Permalink Settings Page Explained
In WordPress, links are classified as Permalinks (short for permanent links). You’ll start to see the term permalink structure and URL structure used interchangeably.
First thing you must do is to go to Permalinks settings page within your WordPress admin area.
Simply select Settings link from the admin menu and then visit Permalinks. This will get you to a page that appears like this:
Permalink settings page in WordPress
As it is possible to see you will find number of choices available.
Plain http://www.wpbeginner.com/?p=123 Day and name http://www.wpbeginner.com/2016/01/22/sample-post/ Month and name http://www.wpbeginner.com/2016/01/sample-post/ Numeric http://www.wpbeginner.com/archives/123 Post name http://www.wpbeginner.com/sample-post/ Custom Structure Choose your personal URL structure using available tags.
Let us explain these options a tad, and exactly how useful these are for users and SEO.
The first option which is sometimes called plain once was the default WordPress URL structure. This is not an SEO friendly option.
The day and name choice is somewhat SEO friendly because it has the post name from it. However, with dates, the URL becomes too lengthy. But more to the point after some time your articles seems outdated, even when you regularly update it. Similarly, the month and name option also runs the chance of being dated.
However if you’re a news publication, then you definitely want to have the dates with your URL to show the recency and increase the user experience.
In our opinion, the above structures are simply just good for news sites. Business sites that happen to be hoping to make ever-green content should avoid it.
Post name option is essentially the most SEO friendly which is short and pretty.
If that you are running a larger publication, then you'll be able to use a custom structure that will also be SEO friendly.
At WPBeginner, We make use of a custom permalink structure that includes a category name combined with post name within the URL. Because our site is large and contain a huge number of articles, it suits us adequately. You will see larger publications adhere to a similar URL structure.
In order to utilize a custom URL structure, you will have to add special tags within the custom structure box. For example, we use:
/%category%/%postname%/
Notice how each tag is wrapped between percent signs. Also see the trailing slashes / before, after, and between tags. Creating Custom URL Structure with Available Tags
For the greatest results, we recommend while using options we already stated. You can copy the URL structure we use on WPBeginner or opt for the post name since your URL structure.
However, you can find plenty of other combinations you are able to create using tags. Here is really a list of tags that you are able to use to create your individual custom URL structure:
%year% – The year with the post, four digits, one example is 2016. %monthnum% – Month in the year, as an example 05 %day% – Day from the month, as an example 28 %hour% – Hour in the day, as an example 15 %minute% – Minute with the hour, one example is 43 %second% – Second on the minute, for instance 33 %postname% – A sanitized version from the title with the post (post slug field on Edit Post/Page panel). For example, when your post title is This Is A Great Post! It would become this-is-a-great-post from the URL. %post_id% – The unique ID # with the post, by way of example 423 %category% – A sanitized version with the category name (category slug field on New/Edit Category panel). Nested sub-categories appear as nested directories within the URI. %author% – A sanitized version on the author name.
Don’t forget to simply click the save changes button after choosing your permalink structure.
As soon because you press the save changes button, WordPress will automatically remodel your site’s .htaccess file and your internet site will immediately start while using the new URL structure. Warning: Important Note for Established Sites
If your blog has been running for over 6 months, then please don’t improve your permalink structure.
You don’t need to use the same structure that any of us used.
By varying your permalink structure by using an established site, you may lose all your social media share count and run the potential risk of losing your existing SEO ranking.
If you must make positive changes to permalink structure, then engage a professional, for them to setup proper redirects. You’ll still lose your social share counts about the pages.
There’s just one exception to this particular rule. If your web site is while using plain URLs, then however old it's, you need to update the URL structure for better SEO. Yes, you are going to still use social share counts, however the benefits far outweigh that.