Wordpress Permalink Structure

by 9 replies
12
Hi all,

Another post I read earlier got me thinking. Is there any difference between using a permalink structure of:
A - /%category%/%postname%/
B - /%postname%/

In other words is one better for SEO and ranking than the other, or if the entire URL string is too long will search engines only read the first chosen # of characters?

Thanks!
#search engine optimization #permalink #structure #wordpress
  • I prefer do go with /%category%/%postname%/ just because there's more of my keyword s in it. I don't know how that affects SEO, but other than that, it makes it easier for people to navigate your blog.
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  • If you're building a large site and using separate themes for your categories than it is helpful to include category/postname. It helps for structuring large sites and building up each theme within your site.

    I'd say for large sites it's definitely a good idea. For smaller sites, postname should be just fine.

    All in all, I'd say it's really about personal preference. Both are good for SEO, and the benefits of either one won't really affect things in a major way.
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    • I can't speak to the SEO value of either, but WordPress strongly recommends NOT starting your permalink with %postname% because it can slow down your database. See the codex for details.
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  • Hello-

    Wordpress Direct uses the A you have mentioned above and they can get some pretty good rankings so that one is best. Especially in light of Cindy's mention of the codex not recommending B.

    -Adam
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    • It depends on the site. If you're creating a mini-site centered around 1 small niche/micro niche then use postname. If you're building a website that can be chunked down into smaller, more precise topics use category/postname. The proximity of your keywords in the URLs DOES matter, so keep that in mind.


      Lets say you're building a website about different breakfast options, you should do the following (category/postname)

      mysite.com/breakfast/pancakes

      as opposed to

      mysite.com/pancakes

      This will help you rank for both pancakes and breakfast.

      Hope this makes sense!
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  • unless it is a large site with lots of content (we're talking hundreds if not thousands of posts), i prefer to go with just /%postname%/

    if you choose to go with /%category%/%postname%/, you may want to check for redundancy in the url. for example:

    hxxp://awesomeaffiliatesite.com/small-people-clothing/latest-small-people-clothing-style/

    i've seen some wp sites with this type of url, and with G00gle on the rampage lately, i'm trying to be cognizant of anything that might look too spammy.

    just my opinion, others may disagree.
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    • Yup that is my exact situation now. I'm curious what others think as well. My site is centered around a 2 word niche word1 word2. Unfortunately those two words are really hard to rank for. So what I thought of trying was going for the much lower numbered searches. So what my URL structure is as follows:

      http://word1word2source.com/word1wor...word1word2.htm

      My thinking is that it would be better to cut out the category.

      Thoughts?
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  • I use /%category%/%postname%/

    I haven't experienced any significant slowdown in my sites but I've never really tested it so its hard to say.
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