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Link Structure - www.domain.com/dog-stuff/dog-stuff OR www.domain.com/dog-stuff/article-title/ ?

by Boris_yo
5 replies
  • SEO
    • |
This applies to WordPress and static sites as well. Suppose i researched my keywords and found keyword dog stuff that i want to make a category of and place all articles that relate to it. But i also want to create article optimized for this keyword.

So this would be my SILO'ed link structure:

www.domain.com/dog-stuff/several articles in this category/

But question is, what name should i give to slug of article optimized for keyword dog stuff? If i give it slug dog-stuff then what we get here is this:

www.domain.com/dog-stuff/dog-stuff/

Looks like duplicated URL, and doesn't look well to me.

Of course i could also name slug after the title of article:

www.domain.com/dog-stuff/my-article-about-dog-stuff/

What do you think is best? Or maybe you have other ideas in mind?

Thanks.
#link #link structure #seo #static #structure #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author PhilipSEO
    Siloing is nonsense, an obsolete idea. It has no value and can actually hurt you if you mess up your URLs. Use a flat URL structure, avoid unnecessary subfolders/slashes in them (SEOmoz.org tested this and found that they hurt your rankings and PageRank, causing Google to think your pages are less important). Use a simple flat site structure and a clear, flat navigation (all your pages should be within as few clicks of the home page as possible). Apart from that, do what is best for the user.

    Apart from exact match domains, keywords in URL have only minimal SEO value, don't worry too much about them. Title tags, internal links and especially backlinks are much more important. (Keywords in URL sre somewhat more relevant to AdSense, though, but I assume this is not what you are addressing here).

    I hope this helps!
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    Search Benefit Content Marketing & SEO Agency
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    • Profile picture of the author Boris_yo
      Originally Posted by PhilipSEO View Post

      Use a flat URL structure, avoid unnecessary subfolders/slashes in them (SEOmoz.org tested this and found that they hurt your rankings and PageRank, causing Google to think your pages are less important).
      Are you saying that slashes instead of extensions hurt rankings and Page Rank?

      This:

      mydomain.com/category/article.html

      Is better than this?

      mydomain.com/category/article/

      If so should i make .html extension to my Wordpress blog posts?

      Originally Posted by PhilipSEO

      Use a simple flat site structure and a clear, flat navigation (all your pages should be within as few clicks of the home page as possible). Apart from that, do what is best for the user.
      How do you expect to put 200 articles on home page without categories?!
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      • Profile picture of the author SledgeHammer
        If so should i make .html extension to my Wordpress blog posts?
        No need for that.

        The best option is www.domain.com/dog-stuff/several articles in this category/
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        Mithun on the Web
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      • Profile picture of the author PhilipSEO
        Originally Posted by Boris_yo View Post

        Are you saying that slashes instead of extensions hurt rankings and Page Rank?

        This:

        mydomain.com/category/article.html

        Is better than this?

        mydomain.com/category/article/

        If so should i make .html extension to my Wordpress blog posts?

        How do you expect to put 200 articles on home page without categories?!
        Oh, no, I didn't mean it that way. The extension makes no difference (unless it's .exe!). What I mean that extra subfolders in your URL make Google think the page is less important. You probably do need categories on your home page, but you can also link a handful for the most important articles directly from the home page. But even when the clicktrough is via a category, it's still better to use a flat URL, i.e. /article.html, not /category1/article.html

        I hope this helps!
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        Search Benefit Content Marketing & SEO Agency
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  • Profile picture of the author discgolftraveler
    I try to keep my posts as simple as possible. For example:

    mp3accessories.com/ipod-case-review

    Avoiding long URL's is best. If you are using a wordpress blog there are some nice plugins that can help you easily change your title tags and permalinks.
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