If you publish anything on the Web and want to know how to make your content more SEO friendly, this post is for you.
Look at the address bar the next time you visit a website and take note of how the URL is written.
Does the address have a clearly defined, readable title?
Most blogs use a structure that includes dates, or possibly randomly generated text, which is scary because it hinders the SERPs ability to ‘learn’ about your content.
Here is the way ‘Permalink‘ is defined by Wikipedia:
A permalink, or permanent link, is a URL that points to a specific blog or forum entry after it has passed from the front page to the archives. Because a permalink remains unchanged indefinitely, it is less susceptible to link rot. Most modern weblogging and content-syndication software systems support such links. Other types of websites use the term permanent links, but the term permalink is most common within the blogosphere. Permalink is a portmanteau word made from permanent link. Permalinks are often simply stated so as to be human-readable.
Permalinks shouldn’t just be readable to humans though, they need to provide a clear path to the search engines so your posts get indexed efficiently. In other words, better link structure leads to the opportunity for more views.
Link Structure: Clean and Clear
I use WordPress to publish my websites, and lately I’ve been noticing other WP power users like Chris Brogan and Outspoken Media updating their links.
Chris goes for the throat, using the following structure:
Lisa, Rae, and Rhea at Outspoken Media employ the same structure as I do (yes, they did it first, and I followed — these ladies rock!):
I prefer the category inclusion because it gives readers who care a very clear understanding of the post topic (kind of like a table of contents). However the strategy also tells the SERPs exactly what my post is really about.
Why is this important?
Well, for starters I can title my post whatever I want (writing for the readers) without losing out on the SEO benefits from search engines (engineering for the SERPs). If you’re still using the same old permalink structure and want to make the change, read on, or else you could break every single link on your website!
Updating WordPress Permalink Structure
Before you rush out to change your link structure, keep in mind you will need to redirect every single post to the new link. If you fail to do this step, all the links you’ve built up to your content will be broken, and this can kick the living crap out of your website SEO.
OK, here’s how to change your permalinks:
(Before you start, record all of your current blog post addresses using NotePad or Word and save it, then back up the list using something like Google Docs).
Step 1. Log-in to your WordPress Dashboard and click on ‘Settings’.
Step 2. Click on the ‘Permalinks’ Heading.
Step 3. Select the ‘Custom Structure’ Button and Add the following:
Step 4. Head to your Web Host (I use BlueHost).
Step 5. Visit your Redirects Page in the cPanel.
Step 6. Redirect each ‘old’ post to the shiny, new ‘category/post-name’ URL.
Step 7. Smile, drink a beer, and start thinking about gaining inbound links to really fire up your website SEO!