Questions tagged [url]

A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is an address for a file or resource that specifies where that resource is, and how to go about retrieving it.

What is a URL?

A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is an address for a file or resource that specifies where that resource is, and how to go about retrieving it.

The most common type of URL found on Pro Webmasters begin with http:// and https://, which is used to locate a file on the World Wide Web. The main difference between the two is that https:// indicates the connection will be encrypted using SSL.

What Kind of Questions Should Use The "URL" Tag?

Any questions about URL formatting, syntax, or the SEO impact of the previous two topics would be appropriate to tag. If you mention an URL in your question, but it does not impact the overall question, this probably would not be an appropriate tag.

Example URL Questions

These questions are good examples of what should be tagged with the URL tag.

Further Reading

If you're looking for a more exhaustive explanation of what URLs are and how they're used, the Wikipedia article on Uniform Resource Locators is a good place to start. RFC 1738 - Uniform Resource Locators (URL) is also a huge source of information, albeit in a dry and highly technical format.

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How should I structure my URLs for both SEO and localization?

When I set up a site in multiple languages, how should I set up my URLs for search engines and usability? Let's say my site is www.example.com, and I'm translating into French and Spanish. What is best for usability and SEO? Directory…
artlung
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URLs: Should I use hyphens, underscores or plus symbols?

Which is better for search engines? example.com/my_cool_page.html example.com/my-cool-page.html example.com/my+cool+page.html
delete
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Why are URLs case-sensitive?

My question: When URLs were first designed, why was case-sensitivity made a feature? I ask this because it seems to me (i.e., a layperson) that case-insensitivity would be preferred to prevent needless errors and simplify an already complicated…
Kyle
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Should I include "www" in my website's URLs? What are the pros and cons?

What are the pros and cons of having http://www.example.com/ vs http://example.com/? For example a problem I'm aware of is that if I use a domain without www I can't set a cookie for the current subdomain only (since there is no subdomain), and the…
Andreas Bonini
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How can URLs have a dot . at the end, e.g. www.bla.de.?

I never believed URLs could have a period at the end, as in www.google.de. (which obvious is not working). However, www.youtu.be. is working perfectly well. How did they manage that?
Michael
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What is the difference between a URI and a URL?

I have read these pages: http://www.w3.org/TR/uri-clarification/ http://www.damnhandy.com/2007/11/19/uri-vs-url-whats-the-difference/ I know basic about URL, URN, and URI; but little on their differences. The thing I can't understand is in a…
Hassan Khodadadeh
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Does it make a difference if your URL path ends in a trailing slash or not?

Does it make any difference to SEO ratings what-so-ever if your url has a trailing slash: http://www.example.com/some/slug/paths/ as opposed to one that does not: http://www.example.com/some/slug/paths
mar10
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What does a double slash in the URL path mean?

What do double slashes often found in URLs mean? For example: http://www.example.com/A/B//C/ Please note: I'm not referring to the beginning right after http:.
aneuryzm
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Why is it preferable to use paths with slashes instead of query-string variables in a web page URL?

Why is it preferable to use paths with slashes instead of query-string variables in a web page URL?
Chris W. Rea
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Is a URL with a query string better or worse for SEO then one without one?

I want to know, is there a huge difference in terms of SEO between these URLs: example.com/ontario/toronto/listings or example.com/listings.php?p=ontario&c=toronto Will one URL rank higher than the other? Is there a huge difference here?
scarhand
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What is the purpose of leading slash in HTML URLs?

I have noticed that some blogs posts have links using a value starting with / in the href. For example: My Page Does the leading / mean the path is starting from the site root? In other words, if the site URL is…
Jérôme Verstrynge
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Well structured URLs vs. URLs optimized for SEO

Let’s take an example of a movie site. So a well structured set of URLs for this site can be: Movie page - example.com/movies/the-matrix Review for movie - example.com/movies/the-matrix/reviews Trailers for movie -…
Terminal
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Should I use a file extension or not?

I've always wondered about this and never found a good solution. But this question reminded me of it. When I have a URL on my website it can be displayed and accessed any of the following…
Talvi Watia
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Are keywords in URLs good SEO or needlessly redundant?

A coworker and I are locked in a debate over the value of SEO keywords in the URL of a page. She wants to change all the filenames of the HTML pages of a fencing company so they look like residential-home-chicago.html,…
Blazemonger
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Is trailing slash automagically added on click of home page URL in browser?

I am asking this because whenever I hover over a link to a home page (e.g. http://www.example.com), I notice that a trailing slash is always added (as observed on the status bar of the browser) whether the home page link contains a href attribute…
Question Overflow
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