Agent Wranglers

SEO-31Recommended

Name the address after the topic

Build each new page's address slug from its primary phrase, in two to five words. Never rename a live address only to add a keyword.

By Agent Wranglers. Updated .

How to do it

Google says keywords in the domain name or the address path alone have hardly any effect on ranking. A readable address still tells people what they will find before they click. Leave out filler words such as "the" and "a". Follow the address style in Keep addresses short and readable. A renamed address must be found and crawled again. So rename one only for a reason other than ranking, and only with a 301 in the redirect map.

Examples

Plain text example

Phrase: oak floor turning grey
Good:   https://example.com/guides/oak-floor-turning-grey
Bad:    https://example.com/guides/the-ultimate-guide-to-why-your-beautiful-oak-floor-is-turning-grey

How to check

For every page in the keyword map, the last part of its address has two to five words. At least one of them is a word of the primary phrase. Every address that changed since the last release has a 301 in the redirect map.

Sources

For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/words-on-the-page/keyword-in-slug">Agent Wranglers SEO playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.