What is a URL name?

The URL name is the part of the URL that comes between "www" and ".com." It's the name of a site. For example, in the case of the URL http://www.seoconsultingfirm.com, the URL name is "seoconsultingfirm."

Why should I have keywords in my URL name?

Recently, search engines began to prioritize the use of keywords in a site's URL in their ranking formulas. Google and Inktomi are two engines that do this. Google is extremely important because Yahoo! uses it to supplement its search results.

Alphabetical priority and its influence

Some smaller search engines use alphabetical hierarchy in their ranking formulas. Also, directories such as Yahoo! and Open Directory Project list sites in alphabetical order.

Avoid spam

Although directories may penalize you for misrepresenting your company's name, neither search engines nor directories will penalize you for inconsistent URL names. This means you can buy any second level domain name you want (as long as you don't infringe on others' trademarks and so on) and search engines will not penalize you for it.

Some search engines don't index URLs with the character "?" in them. However, major search engines can index URLs containing numbers and characters such as "@."

An overview

URL Keywords

• Name files with keywords
• Consider alphabetical hierarchy
• Look for a URL name containing keywords

Back