Keywords in URLs—Do They Even Matter Anymore?

For years, marketers believed that using keywords in URLs would give them a ranking boost. While that might’ve helped in the early days of SEO, Google has since changed how it values URLs.

In fact, the SEO Starter Guide from Google says that having keywords in the domain name or path has little to no effect on rankings today.

So, should you stop adding keywords to your URLs? Not entirely—but the strategy behind it needs to evolve.

What Does Google Say About Keywords in URLs?

Google states clearly that keywords in the domain name or URL path “alone have hardly any effect beyond appearing in breadcrumbs.”

That means they don’t help with rankings directly. Instead, Google looks at many other factors—like page content, relevance, and user experience—when deciding how to rank a page.

If you're choosing a domain or building a new page, your focus should be on clarity, not keyword stuffing.

Why This Myth Still Exists

A lot of older SEO advice is still floating around online. It’s why many businesses still try to include exact-match phrases in their URLs—thinking it will give them a leg up.

But just like meta keywords no longer matter, Google has moved beyond simple signals like this. The algorithm is smarter now, and it cares more about the full picture.

While keywords don’t give you a direct ranking boost, that doesn’t mean they’re useless. A well-written URL can still offer some indirect benefits:

• Improved click-through rates (CTR): A clear URL might make someone more likely to click your link in search results.
  
  

• Better user experience: Users can understand what a page is about just by looking at the URL.
  
  

• Easier sharing and linking: Short, readable URLs are easier to remember and link to.
  
  

For example, compare these two:

• yourcompany.com/page?id=82&cat=tools
  
  

• yourcompany.com/seo-strategy-basics
  
  

The second one is much easier to read and trust—even if it doesn't rank better just because it has "seo" in it.

Usually, no. If your pages are already live and indexed, changing URLs can cause more harm than good—especially if you don’t set up proper redirects.

It’s something we also touched on in our SEO 101 guide: don’t waste time trying to optimize small details that don’t move the needle. Focus instead on improving the content of the page.

That said, if you're launching new content or building a site from scratch, use simple, descriptive URLs that help users—not search engines.

Other URL Myths to Forget

While we’re on the topic, here are a few other common URL myths that need debunking:

• Using exact-match domains (EMDs) doesn’t give you an edge. Google has said that relevance and trust are far more important.
  
  

• Top-level domains (TLDs) like .com or .org don’t impact SEO—unless you're targeting a specific country.
  
  

• Long, keyword-packed URLs don’t perform better. If anything, they look spammy and hurt UX.

Best Practices for URL Structure

Here’s what Google—and good SEO—recommend today:

✅ Keep URLs short and simple
✅ Use hyphens (-) to separate words
✅ Avoid unnecessary parameters or IDs
✅ Make sure URLs are readable by humans
✅ Use lowercase letters only

And most importantly: Don’t force keywords into your URLs. If they make sense naturally, go for it. If not, leave them out.

In today’s SEO world, it’s not about cramming keywords into every corner of your site—including your URLs. Instead, aim for clear, user-friendly URLs that reflect the content of the page.

Google’s SEO Starter Guide backs this up: it’s better to focus on what helps users, not just algorithms.

Related Reading

• SEO 101 – A Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization
  
  

• The Truth About Top-Level Domains and SEO
  
  

• Subdomains vs. Subdirectories—What’s Best for SEO?