Do keywords in URL matters

[pow-wow]

Besides excessive use, i think its good to use whole keywords in url. They are good thing for both descriptive for humans and may also gain you a little weight in any link based algorithm that gave weight to keywords in the anchor text of a link, especially if people choose to link to you using the url only.

Share your views on this.

[KingPin]

It depends.

I mean, hosting.com doesn't rank number one for "hosting" so the argument is that it doesn't play a part in rankings. It used to, yes.

I personally tend to go for brandable domain rather than keyword stuffed domains. Of course if I can find one that has the keyword in the URL (but doesn't look or sound stupid) then I'll grab it.

But I know I can outrank others.

I don't these keyword-keyword-keyword.com domains, they look crap and tacky.

Do they help with anything? I don't think so but I love my brandable domains.

It's a debate like PR.

KP

[zurk]

Well, it does help a little. I do agree with pow-pow's point of view because it's also the same method I use for my blogs, placing or using whole keywords in URLs. Some people do link at your site using their own words or by using only the URL.

[OldWelshGuy]

Does it help? YES, but the bigger question is WHY deos it help?

Knowing something helps, but not knowing why is dangerous.

[MarkeD]

It doesn't help as much as it used to, but with keywords in the URL you have more chance of gaining benefit from raw links (i.e. w_ww.keyword.com) counting towards a keyword ranking, whilst a URL without the keyword would need targeted anchor text.

[OldWelshGuy]

Originally Posted by MarkeD

It doesn't help as much as it used to, but with keywords in the URL you have more chance of gaining benefit from raw links (i.e. w_ww.keyword.com) counting towards a keyword ranking, whilst a URL without the keyword would need targeted anchor text.

BINGO - House called, looks like we have a winner That; is the truth of it. ALL links, including internal links will be keyword rich!

[searchtools]

I think there are several benefits to having keywords in the URL paths on a site.

Carefully named directories are human-readable, which is good for both site producers and site visitors. And they are one of the only two things you can control in the search results page (the other being the title). Reasonably descriptive subdirectory names, even as simple each one being a year, can convey a lot of useful meaning to potential customers as they scan search results.

You can go overboard with this! I had one client, who I convinced of the value of keywords in URLs and they paid the CMS extra to have them instead of meaningless numbers. But they started having urls like

example.com/business_unit_name/product_line/product_name/product_name_version_spec_sheet.html.

It only took them a few months to see the folly in that.

[OldWelshGuy]

Originally Posted by searchtools

I think there are several benefits to having keywords in the URL paths on a site.

Carefully named directories are human-readable, which is good for both site producers and site visitors. And they are one of the only two things you can control in the search results page (the other being the title). Reasonably descriptive subdirectory names, even as simple each one being a year, can convey a lot of useful meaning to potential customers as they scan search results.

You can go overboard with this! I had one client, who I convinced of the value of keywords in URLs and they paid the CMS extra to have them instead of meaningless numbers. But they started having urls like

example.com/business_unit_name/product_line/product_name/product_name_version_spec_sheet.html.

It only took them a few months to see the folly in that.

All of which was wasted as google STILL do not properly read underscores as word breaks. Also when you use an underscore, it becomes invisible in underlined links

[Gorkfu]

Originally Posted by OldWelshGuy

All of which was wasted as google STILL do not properly read underscores as word breaks. Also when you use an underscore, it becomes invisible in underlined links

Yea I agree just using plain dashes or backslashes is a much better way to go.

[aaliyahlim]

Originally Posted by pow-wow

Besides excessive use, i think its good to use whole keywords in url. They are good thing for both descriptive for humans and may also gain you a little weight in any link based algorithm that gave weight to keywords in the anchor text of a link, especially if people choose to link to you using the url only.

Share your views on this.

Yes I agree, when using your keywords in your URL, visitors will have an easier time to remember your site.