When it comes to ranking an ecommerce site, there’s a fascination with keywords – keywords in blogs, meta descriptions, product pages, headers and more.
But what about keywords in URLs?
The short answer. . . yes. But it’s a small factor at that.Take, for example, how Google looks at keywords in a URL ->
Are URL Keywords a Ranking Factor?
Does Google Count Keywords in URLs?
Does Google Count Keywords in URLs?
Matt Cutts, the former head of webspam at Google, has said:“It does help a little bit to have keywords in the URL.”
Meanwhile,
Meanwhile,
John Mueller, a Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, has said:“I believe that is a very small ranking factor, so it is not something I’d really try to force.”
Google’s starter guide says...
Google’s starter guide says...
“If your URL contains relevant words, this provides users and search engines with more information about the page than an ID or oddly named parameter would.”
Yes, but with care. Doing so boosts ranking a little, but relevance and user-friendliness should always take priority.
So, Should You Use Keywords in URLs?
And always analyze the value of your efforts. A keyword-based slug is easy, but if you need to change your entire URL structure for the sake of a keyword, it's probably not worth it.
Effort vs Reward
You can boost any URL (product, landing page or blog) with keywords, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Strategy First
If you want to implement this tactic, consider utilizing our guide on How to Use Keywords in URLs for SEO.