Here are the important factors to consider when creating a URL:

1. Keep it Short and Descriptive

Ensure the URL is concise, easy to read, and accurately reflects the content of the page.

2. Use Hyphens to Separate Words

Use a hyphen (-) to separate words in the URL. Never use an underscore (_), as search engines treat underscores as a joiner, making the keywords harder to distinguish.

3. Include Main Keywords

Ensure that your main keywords are present in the URL. This is a direct signal to search engines about the page’s topic.

4. Use Lowercase Letters

Use only lowercase letters in the URL to prevent potential issues with duplicate content. Some servers treat uppercase and lowercase URLs as two different pages.

5. Avoid Random Characters and Punctuation

Avoid using random characters, numbers (unless they are essential identifiers like product SKUs), or punctuation marks in the URL.

6. Remove Superfluous Information

Remove unnecessary words, also known as “stop words” (such as “a,” “the,” “and,” and “to”), if they make the URL unnecessarily long without adding meaning.

7. Force a Single Domain Version (Canonicalization)

Use a 301 redirect to ensure only one version of your domain is accessible (e.g., redirecting all traffic from example.com to https://www.example.com). This is crucial for avoiding duplicate content penalties.

For Example (using an .htaccess file for non-WWW to WWW redirect):

Most modern websites use HTTPS and automatically configure this domain version redirect via the hosting panel or CDN. If manual configuration is necessary (using an old HTTP example):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

8. Find and Fix Broken Links

Its crucial to regularly audit your website for broken links and fix them with active web pages. Google penalizes pages containing broken links (404 errors) on SERPs, hurting both user experience and your ranking.