Repeat words in URL

Hey everyone,

I've a couple of articles on this subjects already (including on this website) but there tend to be very mixed opinions. I would like to have some final thoughts and answers on this question.

Which page would most likely rank higher in the search results: (example)


- www.chicago-tourism.com/hotels-chicago.html
OR
- www.chicago-tourism.com/hotels.html

But, in case of the first URL, assume that this is not the only page that uses the keyword twice, but almost every page uses it twice: events-chicago.html, chicago-parking.html, restaurants-chicago.html --- OR should I just use events.html, parking.html and restaurants.html?

Who has experience on this specific issue and can tell me what I should do?


Thanks in advance,
StrugglingSEO

 

In theory, the first URL structure is just fine. I'd assume you're trying to target the keyword(s) "Chicago Tourism" to your root domain while targeting keywords related to "Hotels in Chicago" in the internal page. This is the perfect way of doing this since you'll be able to target internal pages for specific keywords and phrases. If you wanted to start using breadcrumbs you could even use the following setup....

However, either URL type you displayed in your post can rank higher than the other; it all depends on on-page and off-page SEO factors. I personally would use the first one you provided in your post.

 

Thanks for your answer! I will definitely bear it in mind!

Are there more people who would like to share their thoughts?

 

What about the last one you provided:

"chicago-tourism.com/hotels-chicago/hilton-hotel-chicago.html" (for example)


Would that be considered as spam due to an overload of keywords in the URL?

 

I think you've already received some good advice from previous posters, but I just want to emphasize that it's the link building and solid content on your site that will be the critical factor in your SEO efforts. I think Google prefers shorter domain names overall, but I've plenty of exceptions. It's all about the link building and how it's done.

 

I think so repeat keywords are most import of seo work.