What is SEO-Friendly URLs?
SEO-friendly URLs (also called speaking URLs) are web addresses that are understandable for humans and search engines. Best practices: Keep short (under 60 characters), include main keyword, use lowercase, separate words with hyphens, no umlauts or special characters, avoid dynamic parameters if possible, reflect logical hierarchy. Bad: /page.php?id=12345&cat=7. Good: /seo-agency-vienna/. The URL is a minor ranking factor and influences CTR in SERPs (users see the URL). In CMS like WordPress or Payload, slug settings should be optimized.
Key Points
- Short, descriptive, keyword-rich
- Hyphens between words
- No special characters
- Reflect logical hierarchy
- Influences CTR in SERPs
- Optimize CMS slugs
Practical Example
“Instead of /services/item?id=15, we use /services/seo-consulting/ - better for SEO and users.”