Best Permalink Structure for SEO?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by Julia Scott, Apr 10, 2013.

  1. #1
    What is the best permalink structure for SEO?

    My tech guy recommended changing mine, which currently is:

    domain/date/post-name

    He suggests changing it to:

    domain/post-name

    He says the date gets in the way of keywords in the post name ("dilutes" the keywords) but I thought search bots like to see fresh content (which I have a lot of).

    What permalink structure do you use and recommend?
     
    Julia Scott, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  2. softech02

    softech02 Banned

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    #2
    I would like to go with you not with your tech guy. If the domain name is not too long, I would advise you to keep the date part in permalink which may help google to understand that the site is being updated regularly however Google have many way to find out same, this is not the only way. Including date part will occupy space in peramalink and since google captures limited character long URL in SE, you would not be able to take advantage of permalink URL structure.
     
    softech02, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  3. Julia Scott

    Julia Scott Greenhorn

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    #3
    Thanks softech02! I didn't realize Google captures limited character data in permalinks. I'm going to wait to make my decision a few days in case others respond. Thanks!
     
    Julia Scott, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  4. Euphoria

    Euphoria Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Your tech guy is right, no post dates, doesn't help you at all.
     
    Euphoria, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  5. Julia Scott

    Julia Scott Greenhorn

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    #5

    Thanks Euphoria! So if post dates don't matter, how does Google know a site has fresh content?
     
    Julia Scott, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  6. Euphoria

    Euphoria Well-Known Member

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    #6
    when they crawl your site, they use the sitemaps to figure that out.
     
    Euphoria, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  7. Euphoria

    Euphoria Well-Known Member

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    #7
    And WP has a post date script , everytime you make a new post.
     
    Euphoria, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  8. Julia Scott

    Julia Scott Greenhorn

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    #8
    Okay, cool. Some days I feel pretty tech-compentent. Today is not one of them.

    Thanks for your help!
     
    Julia Scott, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  9. Euphoria

    Euphoria Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Your welcome Julia.
     
    Euphoria, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  10. Flight-Shot

    Flight-Shot Greenhorn

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    #10
    I'd say it depends on how established your site is. Yes, the URL structure can be an important factor. But it's just one factor of many—and one that could do more harm than good. There's no hard and fast rules (because the referee keeps changing them).
    Arguments for leaving the URL structure alone:
    • the site is over a year old and organic traffic continues to trend up
    • the landing pages for organic traffic is fairly diverse (i.e. not just the home page)
    • Google has 90% of the site's pages/posts indexed
    Arguments for making the change:
    • the site is between 9-12 months and there's still no noticeable boost
    • 80% of organic traffic goes to a single page
    • the site's niche isn't competitive and organic visits have never been significant
    Keep in mind: If you do make the change, even if the dated URLs are properly 301'd to the new URLs, there will be a slight hiccup while Google processes it.
     
    Flight-Shot, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  11. marketingwithjack

    marketingwithjack Greenhorn

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    #11
    The site map is a guide for Google. Once the spiders get to your site, you still need a good link structure and URL structure in order to show it where everything is.
     
    marketingwithjack, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  12. karthick9

    karthick9 Member

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    #12
    There is no need to mention date. Its enough to mention domain/Post-name. Google will crawl your post if its more fresh and informative.
     
    karthick9, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  13. eliteinfoworld

    eliteinfoworld Greenhorn

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    #13
    I agreed with you.
     
    eliteinfoworld, Apr 10, 2013 IP
  14. afoley77

    afoley77 Active Member

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    #14
    Yes, i am agreed with this suggestion and also you can ping google to index your site rather than waiting for crawling..
     
    afoley77, Apr 10, 2013 IP