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I already have a big keyword domain (23 characters). If I use very long key-word url’s (up to 130 characters including the domain) for this domain will I have problems with SE’s? Is there a limit for the length of URL’s when optimizing for SE’s especially with Google.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the reply but I Already have up to 70 character URL’s in top spots… Have any one seen a site rank high with more than 70 characters?
Why not just build 2 or 3 sites with relevant content for the different search terms.
Symbios, why would you recommend that?
new_BEE, keep them short and sweet where possible. Try to minimize the number of characters in your file names when possible. If you have to use longer file names, separate them with hyphens.
I just thought 130 characters might be a bit over the top but who knows these days?
The argument against 3 sites is 'its better to have all 3 types of widget in one place' and offer the visitor more choice, in favour it may give more options for SERPS but if the content were very similar for all 3 sites then it could be spam.
I just thought 130 characters might be a bit over the top but who knows these days?
From a usability standpoint, 130 characters is a very lengthy URL and one that I would not want to type in! ;)
According to Microsoft...
Maximum URL Length Is 2,083 Characters in Internet Explorer [support.microsoft.com]
Agreed about not wanting to type in the url's but then most visitors click in ;)
I always separate key-words with hyphens. I’m planning to make this site to be the best in my country (Sri Lanka) therefore I can’t make 2 or 3 sites. Also I want this site to appear in the top ten for any key- phrase containing the keyword “my-country”. So I need to know the most suitable number of characters can be used for perfect SEO in a URL. Currently I have up to 70 characters URL in top spots.
Sorry for the poor English as I come from a non-English country.
I'm tempted to register one with 2,083 to see what happens (if its possible).
63 characters is the maximum domain length.
So I need to know the most suitable number of characters can be used for perfect SEO in a URL.
I'm not too certain that there is a perfect SEO in a URL. The goal would be to make them short, succinct and easy to remember. Longer URLs tend to be forgotten easily. Really long URLs are not user friendly. Think about your users. The file name/path is just one of many areas that are looked at in determining the relevancy of a page. Don't abuse any one particular area. Balance everything out and you should do fine in Sri Lanka! ;)
Key-word domains/URL’s are very important when it comes to SEO.
Not if all the other areas are neglected. Keyword URLs are not the powerhouse everyone claims them to be. They do factor into the overall equation and have more weight than other factors. But, if you are not taking care of the other areas, the URL is meaningless.
Again, I'm going to reiterate that you think about your visitors. I don't click on results where I see long abusive URLs. That's just me. Others may be fine with it, I'm not.
Good idea!
I have up to 70 character URL (including domain) in a Top Spot for Google!
Hey! What about others?
Google URL Lengths [searchengineworld.com]
Jeez, it wasn't all that long ago that 8.3 formatted filenames were all we had.
~~~~~~Again, I'm going to reiterate that you think about your visitors. I don't click on results where I see long abusive URLs. That's just me. Others may be fine with it, I'm not.~~~~~~~~
Les say one looking for history came across a web directory about his country, organized by topic into categories
Ex:
Reference:
URL1: my-country-web-directory.com/reference-phone-numbers-dictionaries-universities-History. htm
Or Just
Reference:
URL2: my-country-web-directory.com/reference. htm
What would you click?
In your example, I would opt for the shorter URL first and then the second. But, I'm not really going to be looking at the URL am I? I'm going to be looking at your title and the Google snippet.
[edited by: pageoneresults at 9:57 pm (utc) on June 29, 2003]
It should be o.k. up to 70 cha. As I already have few 62- 67 url’s No.1 @ Google. But its important to know the Max. limit without getting into ant trouble with SE’s…
But its important to know the Max. limit without getting into ant trouble with SE’s.
Instead of looking at what the maximum is, why not look at it the other way and try to think minimalistic. What's the shortest URL string you can create that is understandable and effective in achieving your goals.
Answer #1: Search queries. Take a look at Google results' URLs -- they can easily get into the 100-char range. This is applicable to any database system.
Answer #2: Not everyone uses the Latin alphabet. The only way to use CMK or other complex characters in URLs is to encode them, which means a single character can take up to eight chars of the URL field.
I guess I have to do this the hard way:
1. Make few long URLs (up to 100 Cha.)
2. Optimize
3. Give it some high PR links
4. Wait till I get listed.
& I’ll keep you guys posted….
I did check one of the fairly long ones and found it to be 194 characters, and it gets #1 and #2 results on its most obvious search.
I would guess that 90% of my 3000 pages are over 100 characters, and my rankings are just fine. I don't "optimize" the names, I just use the name of the item or category, and it seems to make google happy enough.
I would recommend keeping your domain name short enough for people to type in directly, but don't worry about file name length.
Thank you for a great piece of advice. You probably saved to lot of time.
I just sent you a private message. If you don’t mind please take a look at it.
Have a nice day!
