When they publish new content or run promotions, most people get a long link with various tracking parameters, category subfolders, and other URL segments that make the address look messy. In fact, the more complicated the address is, the worse it is for the brand’s SEO and analytics. By designing a proper link architecture, one can strengthen the brand’s reputation and get more accurate analytical data. This article will discuss why search engines care about link structure, how to leverage short URLs, and what steps to take to begin using short links in daily operations.
When analyzing web pages, search engines use algorithms that read HTML code and follow links to understand what the page is about and how to rank it higher in search results.
The Problem with “Ugly” URLs
An example of an “ugly” or dynamic URL is presented below:
https://yourdomain.com
Such URLs are not readable by search engines and humans since they miss clear page hierarchy and have numerous tracking parameters. The dynamic URLs have several issues that make search engines rank them lower:
1. Lower keyword relevance: The algorithms extract keywords from the URLs to identify the page’s topic. Since the target keywords are placed right after the domain name, the dynamic URLs have fewer relevant terms than static addresses.
2. Higher chance of being ignored: Search engine bots can follow tens of thousands of links per day, so they need to prioritize higher-authority pages. In case of dynamic addresses, the crawlers may get stuck on the same page or read irrelevant material.
The Anatomy of an Optimized URL
In contrast, static or optimized URLs have a simple structure that rarely changes after creation. They also have fewer parameters and use hyphens instead of underscores to separate words. An example of such an address is presented below:
https://yourdomain.com
This URL structure helps search engines identify the page’s topic and content type faster, thus improving the page’s organic search result position.
Besides being more readable by search engines, shortened addresses have several benefits for businesses that actively post content online. A properly formatted short URL can boost a brand’s online presence in multiple ways, so it is worth investing time and effort into learning how to use them.
Social Media Optimization
Social media is all about being concise and using the available characters wisely since the platform’s interface is designed to limit the length of posts and comments. Hence, a long URL in a Twitter post or a Facebook status update may confuse the audience and make the link look unclickable. Moreover, a long link takes more space on a screen, making it harder to read the post’s main message. By contrast, a shortened URL allows a brand to reach more users since it occupies fewer characters, thus, making the post more appealing.
Offline Marketing and Cross-Promotion
When a business runs an offline promotion, a long URL is not an option due to technical limitations. For example, a company can use a shortened address on a business card or a poster so that the client can scan the QR code and get redirected to the desired page. Such a link can also be used in podcast descriptions or on product packaging to encourage customers to explore the brand’s social media accounts and engage more with the company.
Cleaner Appearance of Downloadable Files
When a company provides clients with downloadable content in PDF format, it has to make sure that the document looks visually appealing. Long and short URLs can be used to promote the brand’s other web pages and products. However, a dynamic URL with tracking parameters and categories will make the document look unprofessional. Instead, a shortened link with a clean structure will make the file’s content look better and help the brand appear more trustworthy.
Another reason why businesses should use shortened links more often is the opportunity to access valuable analytical data.
When a company shares a raw link on social media or in an email newsletter, the web analytics tool will show a general idea of how many clicks the URL got. However, the information will be vague since most visits will be categorized as direct or referral traffic depending on where exactly the visitor came from. At the same time, a link shortener can provide more useful insights into the target audience’s behavior. The reason for it is simple: every time a user clicks a shortened URL, the system registers the click and can store the relevant data for later analysis. In most cases, the information is processed within a second after the click, so it is possible to access real-time data.
In general, a link shortener can help a business identify patterns and respond to the audience’s demands better. For example, the company can track when the traffic peaks and plan the content posting schedule more efficiently. In addition, the shortener can show which geographical area has the largest number of visitors, so the business will be able to optimize the marketing efforts and only spend time and money on the most promising customers. Also, the link shortener will highlight what platforms, apps, or web browsers the audience uses most often. By studying the collected data, the company will be able to abandon underperforming channels and focus on the ones that deliver more traffic and customers.
To begin using shortened links without changing the established content creation workflow, a company should use the free AriaToolz URL shortener and follow a few simple steps every time it needs to share a link online.
Before anything else, a company should make sure that the web page it intends to promote has a clean URL structure. It is better to use a slug that includes the target keyword and is easy to read.
If the company runs a specific marketing campaign and wants to collect relevant data to measure its performance later, it should add tracking parameters to the URL. They will help the company separate the traffic from different campaigns and track their performance in the analytics dashboard.
Once the company has created the long link with tracking parameters, it can enter it into the AriaToolz URL shortener to get a shortened version. This way, the company will be able to share a short, clean URL that will be easy for the audience to read and share.
The final step is to add the shortened link to the marketing material and monitor the traffic and engagement statistics. The company can later use the data to improve the link optimization strategy and collect more valuable insights about the target audience’s preferences and behaviors.