What is a friendly URL and why is it important?

URL means Uniform resource locator, which can be translated into Portuguese as “Uniform Resource Locator”. It is the address of a website, web page or document on the Internet.

A URL is made up of four main parts:

Protocol: The protocol is the method used to access the resource. The most common protocol is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
Host: The host is the name of the server that hosts the resource.
Door: The port is the port number on the server hosting the resource.
Route: The path is the path to the resource on the server.

Here is an example URL: https://www.google.com/

In this URL, the protocol is "https", the host is "www.google.com", the port is "443" and the path is "/".

URLs are used to identify and access resources on the Internet. They are essential for web browsing and the functioning of websites and applications.

Here are some tips for creating effective URLs:

Use relevant keywords: The keywords in the URL must be relevant to the content of the resource. This will help search engines index and rank the resource.
Keep them short and easy to remember: URLs should be short and easy to remember. This will make it easier for users to find the resource.
Avoid special characters: Avoid special characters in URLs, such as spaces, accents and accented characters. This can cause problems for search engines and users.

By following these tips, you can create effective URLs that will help improve the performance of your website or app.

Relevant topics we will cover in this article on Friendly URL and its importance:

What is friendly URL

Friendly URL concept = simple, short, clean URL, with keywords and easy to read
Difference between friendly and complex URLs

Benefits of Friendly URL

Improves user experience and readability
Helps with website ranking in search engines (SEO)
Increases click-through rate
Strengthen keywords for search engines
Makes it easier to share and remember the URL

Best practices for optimizing URLs

Use main content keywords
Keep URL short and direct
Separate words with hyphens
To eliminate 'stop words' unnecessary
Avoid numbering and special characters

"Stop words (or stop words – free translation) are words that can be considered irrelevant to the set of results to be displayed in a search carried out in a search engine. Examples: as, and, the, of, for, with, without, was”.

Tools for testing and improving URLs

MOZ Bar
Page Speed Insights
Google Search Console

Now, let's move on to the topics that will help you in this enlightening article about the importance of friendly URLs for websites and inbound marketing strategies:

URLs, also known as Uniform Resource Locators, are the addresses that direct users to each page on the web (yes, that was already said at the beginning). Having friendly, intuitive and easy-to-read URLs brings a series of benefits to both the user experience and organic discovery in search engines.

Long, confusing, or overly complex URLs harm usability. In addition to being difficult to understand, remember or even copy/paste to share later. That's why, simplifying and streamlining URLs should be a priority.

What defines a friendly URL?

Friendly URLs are simple, short, direct and composed of keywords related to the content in question. They convey clarity, both to human visitors and to search engine robots, what that page is specifically about.

Examples of friendly URLs:

www.site.com/dicas-de-seo-para-iniciantes

www.loja.com/tenis-para-racing-masculino

Long URLs, containing only complex numbers and parameters, in addition to detracting from the experience, do not bring meaning to the topics:

www.site.com/B312?cod=37BK44$prp=vinicius

The impact of friendly URL on SEO

Friendly URLs optimized with keywords signal relevance to search engines, improving the site's ranking. They also increase clicks when displayed in the organic results of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).

Therefore, by structuring a short, clean URL with search terms, you make it easier for Google to index and understand for the user. This is a powerful combination for leverage traffic and authority in the online environment in the long term.

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URLs in the past and the current trend of simplification

Since the emergence of the first websites on the internet in the 80s and 90s, the complexity of URLs has increased over the years. Companies and website developers didn't give much importance to user experience and ease of understanding addresses.

In the past, long URLs with multiple parameters, numbers and codes were common, like these examples:

www.loja.com/product.php?item=22450&category=eletronicos&src=newsletter05

www.blog.com/posts/010195332154990

In the past, the focus was only on the URL working technically, directing the user uniquely to different pages. Readability and meaning were not considered issues, resulting in poor experiences.

The evolution towards friendly URLs

With the maturity of the internet and the competitiveness for traffic, we also began to explore SEO factors. Search terms and keywords are now inserted into URLs when possible.

Furthermore, the consumer-centric perspective showed the importance of simplifying addresses to make it easier for users to share and remember. This is how the concept of friendly URLs emerged, which is widely adopted today.

Modern websites invest in short addresses, without confusing codes, which transparently convey what that specific page is about. These URLs contain relevant keywords and are optimized for both SEO and visitor reading. It is the natural evolution towards positive experience.

Persistence of complex URLs in some cases

Although the simplification of web addresses is currently the dominant trend, it is still possible to find long and unfriendly URLs in some cases.

A famous example is YouTube videos.

When sharing or accessing a specific video on YouTube, we come across long links, containing a seemingly random mix of letters and numbers, like this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

This happens because YouTube and other online platforms need to ensure that each available file, such as videos and images, has a unique and stable address. As millions of videos are uploaded daily, it would be unfeasible to create short, semantically named URLs for everyone.

Thus, a unique alphanumeric code is generated to identify that asset regardless of the original file name. Although bad for sharing and memorization, it is a necessary technical solution given the immense amount of content indexed by YouTube every minute.

Similarly, other platforms also maintain unfriendly URLs due to technical limitations related to the infrastructure that supports their service. For smaller sites, however, simplifying URLs should be a rule of thumb whenever possible to improve SEO and overall page experience.

What to expect from the future of URLs and SEO with Artificial Intelligence

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into our digital lives, including marketing, changes to the URL and SEO landscape are expected in the near future.

Machines are becoming able not only to optimize websites for search engines, but also to personalize experiences for each specific user. This impacts the way URLs are structured and interpreted within this new web reality.

One example is LeIA, a tool launched by Google that automatically generates descriptions for images. It provides context and meaning for search engines to understand what each analyzed image is about.

This allows URLs to contain less explanatory text, since AI can interpret the linked asset in greater detail even with leaner codes. This way, the URLs could be cleaner, but with meaning maintained behind the machines.

Furthermore, AI tends to personalize URLs based on each user's profile and context, directing them more assertively to the ideal content. Dynamic URLs that change with the visitor will be possible in the future of the smart web.

Therefore, it is important for marketing and IT professionals to stay up to date with advances in AI in SEO to understand how to optimize the relationship between URLs and search engines in the age of data.

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Having an optimized website and friendly URLs are just some of the pillars to highlight your brand digitally in search engines and win customers online. There is a lot of complex work involving traffic strategies, marketing automation and technological integrations.

That's why having a solid partnership with an agency specializing in digital marketing is so important to unlock the full potential that the internet offers your business.

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With years of experience and hugely successful cases, we develop personalized Inbound Marketing strategies, aligned with the unique objectives of each client. Our specialized team takes care of everything: SEO, attractive content, traffic management, automations and much more.

Furthermore, we work with the best digital marketing platforms, ensuring smooth adoption of new resources into your routine to maximize results. Join the Amplifica Digital and quickly win more customers online with the support of those who deliver websites and strategies that really convert.

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