What Makes a Good URL Structure?
A good URL is short, descriptive, and logical. It tells the user and the search engine what's on the page — before they open it. proofofreach.de/blog/core-web-vitals-optimieren.html is better than proofofreach.de/p?id=4837.
Good URLs are short, descriptive, and follow a logical hierarchy. They help both users and search engines understand the content and structure of your website.
Rules for SEO-Friendly URLs
Descriptive Words Instead of IDs
Use real words in the URL that describe the page content. Avoid number IDs, special characters, or cryptic parameters. Google uses the URL as a signal for page content.
Keep It Short
Shorter is better. Remove filler words like "and," "the," "a" from the URL. /blog/core-web-vitals-optimieren is better than /blog/how-you-can-optimize-your-core-web-vitals.
Hyphens Instead of Underscores
Google treats hyphens (-) as word separators, underscores (_) not. core-web-vitals is recognized as three words, core_web_vitals as one connected word.
Use Lowercase
URLs are case-sensitive. /Blog/Article and /blog/article are technically two different pages. Use only lowercase to avoid duplicates and confusion.
No Umlauts in URLs
Use ae, oe, ue instead of ä, ö, ü. Umlauts are converted to cryptic codes in URLs (e.g., %C3%A4) and are hard to read.
Site Architecture: The Hierarchy
Site architecture describes how your pages are organized and linked to each other. Good architecture follows the principle: Every important page should be reachable from the homepage within a maximum of 3 clicks.
For a blog website like proofofreach.de, that looks like: Homepage → Blog Overview → Article. That's two clicks. The blog overview links all articles, and the articles link to each other. This way Google can find and crawl every page quickly.
Flat vs. Deep
A flat architecture (few directory levels) is better than a deep one. /blog/core-web-vitals.html is better than /blog/2026/03/technical-seo/core-web-vitals.html. Fewer directory levels mean shorter URLs and faster crawling.
The Role of Navigation
Your main navigation should link the most important areas of your website. It's important not just for users but also for Google: Links in the navigation appear on every page and distribute authority to the linked pages. Put your most important pages in the main navigation.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Official documentation on search engine optimization best practices. developers.google.com
FAQ
As short as possible, as long as necessary. Remove filler words and keep the URL under 60 characters. Descriptive words are more important than brevity.
Yes, a relevant keyword in the URL helps Google understand the page content. But don't overdo it — one keyword is enough. Keyword stuffing in the URL hurts more than it helps.
Technically yes, but only change URLs when necessary. Changed URLs lose their built-up authority. If you must change a URL, always set up a 301 redirect from the old to the new URL.
Last updated: March 25, 2026