Have you ever wondered if the URLs on your website are helping or hurting your search engine optimization? As a website owner, it’s an important thing to consider. The URLs you choose, absolute or relative, can impact your SEO in different ways. If you’re unsure of the difference or which type is best for search rankings and user experience, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this blog, we’ll explain absolute and relative URLs, discuss the pros and cons of each for SEO and help you determine the best choice for your website. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of URLs and feel confident you’re making the right choice for your site’s architecture and search performance.
To understand which URL type is best for search engine optimization (SEO), you must first know the difference between absolute and relative URLs. SEO Services can help you build a robust online presence.
An absolute URL contains the full web address to a page, including the protocol (https://) and domain name (example.com). A relative URL, on the other hand, only contains the path to a page relative to the current page. So if you’re on example.com/blog/ and the relative URL is /contact/, it links to example.com/contact/.
For SEO, absolute URLs are generally preferable for a few reasons:
However, relative URLs do have their place. They can be helpful for site navigation and in content where short, clean URLs are preferred, like blog posts. Many CMSs and web-building tools also generate relative URLs by default.
As an SEO expert, you know that URL structure matters. The URLs you choose can help or hurt your search rankings and user experience.
So which is better for SEO, absolute or relative URLs?
Absolute URLs contain the full website address, like https://www.example.com/products/shoes. Relative URLs just show the path, like /products/shoes.
For SEO, absolute URLs are generally preferable for a few reasons:
However, relative URLs do have a place. They’re useful for:
In the end, absolute URLs are best for the pages you want to rank in search. But for internal site navigation and UX, relative URLs work great. Using a combination of both absolute and relative URLs on your site helps you get the best of both worlds. SEOquake can display the number of internal and external links on a webpage and their quality and relevance.
So there you have it. While absolute URLs can help search engines crawl and index your site more efficiently, relative URLs are often better for user experience and internal linking. When it comes down to it, you need to weigh the pros and cons of your specific situation. If search engine optimization is your top priority, absolute URLs may be the way to go. But if providing the best user experience is most important, relative URLs are probably your best bet.
By Vivek Sharma
who is a digital marketing specialist at India’s leading SEO Services company, Better Graph. He often reviews digital marketing strategies for clients with the SEO team and is actively involved in SEO. He regularly consults, trains, and speaks on SEO, PPC, and local search techniques.
Member since November, 2022
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