Plan clean, readable URLs and site depth
Use short, lowercase, hyphenated URLs and keep important pages within a few clicks of the homepage, without breaking existing links.
The problem
Some URLs are very long, contain uppercase letters, underscores or many parameters, or important pages are buried many clicks deep.
How to spot it
The audit lists the affected URLs with the specific reason, or the click depth.
Why it matters
Readable URLs are easier to understand, share and trust in search results. Pages many clicks from the homepage are crawled less often and receive less internal authority.
What happens if you leave it
Changing URLs has a cost: every changed URL needs a redirect. Improve new URLs freely, and change existing ones only when the benefit is clear.
How to fix it
- For new pages, use short lowercase words separated by hyphens that describe the content:
/services/emergency-plumbing/. - Avoid session IDs and unnecessary parameters in links; use canonical tags for unavoidable parameter versions.
- For deep pages, link important pages from higher-level hub pages, category pages or the main navigation, so they are within about three clicks of the homepage.
- Only if you change existing URLs: add 301 redirects from old to new, update internal links and the sitemap, and keep the redirects in place long term.
Common mistakes
- Changing many URLs at once without redirects.
- Stuffing keywords into URLs.
How to check the fix worked
Spot-check new URLs and click depth from the homepage. Re-run the audit and compare the deep-page count.
References and further reading
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