You must keep a few key aspects in mind in order to run a successful online eCommece store. Not just for users, but also for web crawlers and bots that are intended to index it. Every website should be intuitive and user-friendly. A correct URL structure is undoubtedly one of these factors. Here’s how to pick the best URL format for your eCommerce website.
Keeping a Friendly URL
A friendly URL should be straightforward and understandable to your target audience. There should be no random parameters, only terms that are relevant to a certain page. Your visitors (and search engine bots) can simply locate what they’re searching for and find themselves with such a clear and easy layout.
Additionally, having user-friendly and well-optimised URL for your online business might make you appear more trustworthy, causing potential buyers to click on your links. Let’s say you’re in the market for a new pair of running shoes. Which of the URLs below would you want to visit?
www.yourshop.com/blue-nike-trainers
Or
www.yourshop.com/product/0192nike
The first one looks to be far more credible and convincing.
A Properly Structured URL
Well-structured URLs “explain” the site’s content in great detail and offer the user a clear idea of what they’ll find there. A decent URL structure consists of nothing more than the site’s important information, separated in a proper order. A appropriate structure for an e-commerce shop would most likely look like this:
https://yourshop.com/category-name/product-name
A URL like this is made up of three key components: domain of the online store, the product’s category, as well as the name of the product itself.
A user will be able to find what they’re looking for with an address like this. It’s important to remember however that a structure like this won’t be enough on its own if there are additional product categories involved. In reality, a URL produced in this manner will be too lengthy and ambiguous.
Correct URL Naming Formats
Every product in an eCommerce business has various images and sometimes extra instructions in the form of PDF files. These URLs are especially important since in the case of photographs, URLs are frequently produced automatically based on their names. That is why it is critical to correctly name all of your files before submitting them to the store.
There should be no special characters or capital letters in a URL address. Additionally, instead of underscores (“_”), digits, or any other factors, you should use dashes (“-“) to link each word. Both search engine bots and online users would benefit from this, since they will be able to remember and input the proper URLs directly into their browsers.
SSL Certificates in URLs
One of Google’s key concerns is security. That is why it is important to install an SSL certificate that verifies your domain’s integrity. This is especially true with eCommerce sites, since they frequently demand logins and passwords, as well as credit card information, to complete a transaction.
Every eCommerce site without an SSL certificate (i.e., with http protocol instead of https at the beginning of the URL) is flagged as a potentially harmful site by the search engine.
When it comes to ranking in SERPs, Google doesn’t disguise the fact that a secure connection is one of the ranking elements, which is why a lack of it might result in reduced visibility in the results.
A lack of trust among consumers is significant, particularly when it comes to entering credit card information. Even with the most enticing incentives, no one will complete a purchase if they receive a message saying a site is not secure.
Our Tips for a Better URL
In eCommerce sites, good URL structure is critical, both from an SEO standpoint and from the user’s perspective. Simple and transparent URLs make it easier for your customers to navigate and utilise your site, as well as for search engine bots to correctly crawl it.
You should think about how you want your URL addresses to appear and what keywords you want to include from the start. Your online store will not only be more user-friendly, but it will also rank higher in search results.
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