Request a Website Audit to Get Your Marketing on the Right Track! Get Started ->

Web Savvy Marketing

We are web designers, SEO consultants, bloggers, social media enthusiasts, and WordPress experts all rolled up into one.

  • Home
  • Our Agency
    • Industries We Serve
    • Sample Client List
    • Testimonials
    • Charitable Contributions
    • Events and Community Involvement
  • Website Design
  • SEO Consulting
  • Blog
    • Search Engine Optimization Articles
    • Website Development Articles
    • WordPress Articles
  • Contact

08.04.09 Search Engine Optimization

Are You Calling Me Ugly? The Quest for Seach Friendly URL’s

Successful Internet marketing and search engine optimization involves a large-scale project that includes a number of steps, tasks, and owners. Keeping the process in check and the plan moving forward takes experience and attention to detail. One of the most common elements of the plan that can be forgotten or missed is the use of quality URL’s that are search engine friendly (SEF).

Ugly or Just Confusing?

Some may question if a given URL can be ugly, but to Google and other search engines, a URL can be as ugly as the shirt your grandmother gave you on Christmas. More importantly, designing a website with friendly URL’s is key to making a website easy for search engine spiders to read and index. They are also important to the actual website visitor, because the pages are easily remembered and shared.

Here is a classic example of SEF versus Ugly URL’s:

UGLY = web-savvy-marketing.com/cgi-bin/gen.pl?id=871&view=basic

SEF = web-savvy-marketing.com/internet-marketing/search-engine-optimization-seo/

The first URL provides little information. The second URL tells the search engine spider and visitor that the page “Search Engine Optimization” is indeed about search engine optimization and that it is a subset of the category “Internet Marketing”. Visitors and search engine spiders like to see clearly defined pages and easy to follow website structures. Such use of SEF URL’s help both a physical person and a virtual process digest the information conveyed by the website’s designers.

Flipping the SEF Switch

There is a time and a place for “flipping the switch” on SEF URL’s. Typically a new site or a complete website redesign will utilize the ugly URL’s until right before launch of the new website. This will allow the website development process to change dynamically without the need of creating the SEF URL’s or worrying about the URL’s changing as the project migrates through the build process. Good website designers will stress this caution, because large scale websites can dramatically change as the design and build process unfolds. Once the build is complete and the site is ready to launch, the migration to SEF URL’s is fast and relatively painless in mainstream open source CMS packages like Joomla or WordPress.

Tags: Search Engine Friendly

Like this article?

Sign up and receive weekly updates via email. Don't worry, we value your privacy and we hate spam just as much as you do.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Rebecca Gill's avatar

Rebecca Gill

Rebecca is the founder and president of Web Savvy Marketing, a Michigan digital marketing agency. She has a well-rounded business background within SMB and enterprise organizations, as well as over fifteen years of experience in sales and online marketing. She provides SEO consulting services for clients, SEO coaching on Clarity.fm, teaches SEO at diySEOcourses.com, and has a weekly podcast at SEObits.fm. Learn more at RebeccaGill.com.

Request a Website Audit

Did you try a DIY website audit checklist, only to find you missed the important items that would truly influence your SEO, traffic, and revenue? What you really need is a professional website audit to keep your website and SEO healthy.Request Your Audit

Browse the Blog by Category

  • Branding (8)
  • Community Involvement (37)
  • Content Marketing (11)
  • Internet Marketing (60)
  • Search Engine Optimization (93)
  • Social Media (24)
  • Website Development (59)
  • WordPress (92)

The Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Learn what SEO is and why it matters to your website or blog. Download the free eBook and start your SEO journey.Download the eBook

Let's Create Something Together

We'd love to help you create something amazing.
Reach out to us and tell us about your vision.Say Hello

Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency

TwitterYoutubeFacebookLinkedinGoogle +

About Us

  • Our Digital Marketing Agency
  • Industries We Serve
  • Client Testimonials
  • Community Events
  • Charitable Contributions

Design and SEO Services

  • Logo Design
  • Website Design
  • Custom WordPress Themes
  • PSD to Genesis
  • SEO Consulting

WordPress Services

  • WordPress Customizations
  • Support and Maintenance
  • WordPress Upgrades
  • WordPress Migrations
  • WordPress Training
Made With Love in Michigan | Copyright © 2009 - 2022 Web Savvy Marketing | All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Sitemap