Is it true that Google prefers shorter URLs over longer URLs? That is an SEO myth that will not die. Here’s when URL length is important and when it isn’t.
The latest installment of the Ask Googlebot video series on YouTube discusses URL length.
Google’s John Mueller responds to the following question.
“Do shorter URLs actually make an impact compared to long URLs or is this just another SEO myth?“
In his response, we learn that URL length isn’t the deciding factor that some believe it is. However, there is one instance where it does play a role in search.
Read Mueller’s complete response below
John Mueller, a Google employee On URL Length, Mueller explains that URL length has no bearing on SEO. Except in the one case where it might.
Mueller prefers to keep URLs under 1,000 characters long because it is easier to track data this way.
“The direct answer is no. The URL length doesn’t matter. We use URLs as identifiers, it doesn’t matter how long they are. Personally, I try to keep them shorter than 1,000 characters, but that’s just to make monitoring easier. The number of slashes in there also doesn’t matter.”
This advice is consistent with one he gave in 2019 when he first suggested that URLs be kept under 1,000 characters.
Canonicalization is the only area of Google’s ranking systems where URL length can play a role.
Read Why Review Monitoring Is No Easy Task.
When several similar URLs have the same on-page content, Google will combine all signals from those pages into a single URL.
That URL is known as the canonical URL, and it is what users see in search results.
Google may consider the length of URLs as one of the factors in deciding which URLs to display in search results.
“I’m currently only aware of one part of our systems where the URL length plays a role— that part is canonicalization.
Canonicalization is what happens when we find multiple copies of a page on your website and we have to pick one URL to use for indexing.
If we find a shorter and clearer URL, our systems tend to select that one.”
Canonicalization, according to Mueller, has nothing to do with rankings.
In short, the length of a URL may influence the appearance of search snippets, but it has no effect on search rankings.
“This does not affect ranking. It’s purely a matter of which URL is shown in search. So, to sum up, when it comes to search rankings, neither the URL length nor the number of slashes matter. Use a URL structure that works for you and which you can keep for the long run.”
When Mueller mentions slashes in URLs, he is addressing another SEO myth: flat URL structures rank higher.
Some websites shorten their URLs by flattening the structure, believing it will affect rankings.
URLs such as homepage.com/blog/blog-title
This would be: homepage.com/blog-title
That’s a waste of time because Mueller has stated that a flat URL structure provides no benefit.
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