Summary
Having a good URL is incredibly important for effective SEO and improving search engine ranking, which is why you must know what is a url, and help internet users understand the context of a webpage before clicking on it. A well-structured URL reflects the content of the webpage, which eventually enables internet users to instantly grasp the content they will find after clicking on the URL.
A well-structured URL provides clarity and ensures improved navigation to users while taking them to the relevant information. Google uses URLS to grasp the content and relevance of a webpage to a potential search query.
What Is A URL – Understanding Its Importance
Addressing the question of what is a url, you should know that the term URL refers to “uniform resource locator,” and is a web address of a specific file or web page on the internet. The address bar of your internet browser contains the URL whenever you open a web page and read an article.
URLs are incredibly important to identify every separate resource to make it easy for internet users to access the exact web pages or content they are looking for. Similarly, URLs make it convenient to share web content with others through the link.
When deciding which results to show to internet users, search engines, such as Google, consider the entered URL. For instance, Google analyzes the URL’s words to determine the topical relevance of a webpage. With that said, URLs are incredibly crucial for website owners and web developers due to the fact that URLs are crucial for structuring websites and effective content management.
What Is A URL And Where Is It Located
A URL is located at the top of your browser’s window in the address bar. This is the location where the complete web address of the current webpage that you are viewing. The address bar is the specific space in your internet browser where you can type or copy-paste a URL.
When you enter a URL into your internet browser, the internet browser processes the potential website that you are looking for and prepares to send the requested resource to you. The server of the website then sends you the requested content to your browser, which is then displayed on the screen of your device.
When you visit a website, the URL of that specific webpage is displayed in the address bar, which enables you to determine exactly the page that you are on.
What Is A URL Example – Understanding the Structure
Now that you know what a URL is, you must be considering what is a url link, which is what we are about to address. When it comes to the structure of a URL link, it comprises various parts, such as the following:
Scheme
The first part of the URL is referred to as “scheme,” which indicates the set of rules that the internet browser uses to request a resource. Now, you should know there are several types of protocols; however, with a URL, the focus will be on HTTP and HTTPs, where HTTPS is the secure version.
Subdomain
This part of the URL comes before the chief domain name. Subdomains refer to the distinct site section, such as “blog” in the example URL of “blog.example.com.” Subdomains are used to distinguish sections of a website, such as “blog,” “online store,” and “forum.”
Domain Name
The domain name is the main section of a URL and serves as the “name” of a business. For example, in the URL “www.globexoutreach.com,” the domain name is “globexoutreach.” It is pretty self-explanatory why each domain name is unique.
Top-Level Domain
Also referred to as “TLD,” this part of a URL follows the domain name. In the example “www.globexoutreach.com,” the top-level domain is “.com.” This part of the URL helps with the classification of websites based on the purpose, type, and location.
The use of a top-level domain indicates “relevancy” to Google.
Path
This part of the URL follows the domain and indicates to internet users, but also search engines, the location of pages on websites. Typically, this section comprises a slug and a subfolder. Slug is the part that comes after the domain and refers to a specific page on a website. A slug comprises words that are separated by hyphens and indicate the content of the webpage.
Parameters
This section is added to the end of a URL and allows for page modification. This part starts with a “?”. This part includes two parts, which are a key and a value, both of which are separated by an “=” sign.
Anchor
Anchor text also referred to as a fragment identifier, this part makes up the last part of a URL and starts with the “#” symbol. This part of the URL takes internet users to a specific section within a specific webpage instead of the entire webpage.
What is A Website URL
Have a look at this example website URL: “https://example.com.” A website URL is also known as a web address or website address. A URL guides web browsers to the right website, which is pretty similar to a physical street address. Before URLs, servers only had numerical addresses, which were quite a challenge to remember, which led to the invention of the DNS, which refers to the Domain Name Service. The DNS equates names with numbers.
With DNS, it has become possible to assign names to those numbers, which makes website addresses easy to remember. So, in simple words, a URL is referred to as a web address, and the URL guides web browsers to the required website. Essentially, a website URL is an address, and if you have the address, you can find the destination.
What is A URL Used For
What is a URL used for anyway? Commonly seen beginning with “www.” and ending with “.com,” URLs are Unique identifiers that are used to locate anything on the Internet. A URL is used to tell a web browser how and where to retrieve an online resource. You can type URLs directly into the address bar of your browser, but you can also use them whenever clicking on links on a web page, a bookmark list, or an e-mail.
As we mentioned earlier, a URL is made up of multiple parts, most notably the “protocol,” the “domain name,” and the “path.” The first part, which is the protocol or the scheme, is essentially the part that accesses the Internet. The examples of protocols include HTTP and HTTPS.
On the other hand, the host name is a unique reference that represents a web page. In other words, the domain name is the name of the site that you are visiting when typing or copy-pasting the URL in the search bar. Subsequently, the path indicates where you are on that specific website.
If you are wondering about the important question of what is my url, you should know that you can find it easily by tapping the address bar at the top. Depending on your device or device settings, you might locate the address bar at the bottom. From there, you can click the address bar, which will naturally highlight the URL.
What is A Deep URL
A deep URL is also referred to as a deep link. Deep linking plays an important role in digital marketing, which is why you should know what it is, how it works, and how you can benefit from it. Basically, a deep URL for a deep link is an action that delivers users to a particular in-app content from any device they use to access the internet.
One fine example of a deep link is when the call-to-action in an abandoned cart e-mail leads users back to checkout. A QR code can also be a perfect example of a deep URL where you scan a physical object, such as a bus stop, to get directions for downloading an app. You can also scan a QR code in a restaurant to join their social media.
How Does A Deep URL Work?
Now that you know what a deep URL is, you must be thinking about how it works. Essentially, by using a deep linking engine, you will create two journeys, one for users with the app and one for users without the app. Now, non-app users will experience a deferred deep linking, whereas app users will seamlessly travel to the in-app content.
Through a deep URL, the non-app users are first directed to download the app and then sent to the intended in-app content. Understandably, a deep URL can help marketers and product managers to improve the overall customer experience, increase app conversions, and enhance engagement and customer retention.
You can add deep links or deep URLs to your web banners and campaigns.
What is A Canonical URL
In SEO, it is incredibly important to understand the use of canonical URLs. As your website increases content and webpages, it can become increasingly challenging to prevent pages from becoming duplicates of each other. Duplicate pages can cause duplicate content issues, which can prevent your webpages from ranking.
This is where the importance of a canonical URL comes in. Essentially, a canonical URL represents the main version of your web page that is selected by Google or other search engines when you have existing duplicate web pages. The goal is to avoid showing repetitive content in search engine results.
Have a look at the following two examples:
Canonical URL: https://globexoutreach.com/blog/
Non-canonical URL: https://globexoutreach.com/blog/?page=1
Evidently, Google will choose the canonical URL for ranking and indexing, which is why the canonical page is also referred to as the primary version. If you want to take control of selecting the canonical version of your page, then you can affect this canonicalization by integrating canonical tags along with other methods, so Google shows the page as the primary version that you want.
What is A URL in Computer – The Basics
By now, you already know that a URL is the unique address that helps identify and locate a unique resource on the internet, including an image, a file, or a webpage. Essentially, the URL in a computer refers to the web address that indicates to your internet browser where to find the specific information that you are looking for when browsing the internet on your computer.
Let us explore things a bit further and see what is a url and how it works. Essentially, the URL pinpoints the exact location of a resource and provides you with the mandatory information to have the resource displayed on your screen. As we mentioned before, the URL follows a specific format, such as the scheme, protocol, domain name, etc.
Have a look at the following 10 examples of url so you can have a better understanding of the url full form and its structure:
Dynamic URL – https://globexoutreach.com/page?id=9888&user=admin
Homepage URL – https://www.globexoutreach.com
Login Page URL – https://www.accounts.globexoutreach.com/login
Blog Post URL – https://www.globexoutreach.com/blog/what-is-seo
Search Query URL – https://www.yahoo.com/search?q=laptops
Contact Page URL – https://www.globexoutreach.com/contact
Secure File Share URL – https://drive.google.com/file/y/abc789
URL for Download Link – https://files.globexoutreach.com/download/report.pdf
Social Media Profile URL – https://instagram.com/username
Product Page URL – https://store.example.com/product/67890
The Importance of URL for SEO – Best Practices
The URL refers to the location of a resource on the internet, and it serves many purposes. Having a clean URL structure can help you establish and reinforce trust. Besides, a well-structured URL increases the chances of users clicking and sharing your links. A URL also helps users understand what they can expect when they click on it.
This aspect emphasizes the importance of fully optimizing your website’s URLs for search engines. There are several things you can do to improve the URL structure for SEO, such as using hyphens to separate words. When a URL comprises more than one word, you have a few options for how to separate them, such as combining the words into one word, using underscores, or using hyphens.
Ideally, you should choose a method that makes the URL the cleanest and easiest to understand, which makes the use of hyphens a better choice among others.
Final Thoughts
Now that you have a clear understanding of what is a url, it is time to analyze your website’s URLs for potential issues. You can make the most of the available site audit tools to effectively identify potential issues with URLs without having to spend too much time on it. For instance, Semrush’s tool can help you quickly analyze potential URL issues that your website might have, such as complex URLs, URLs that are too long, or URLs with underscores.
Having well-structured URLs is incredibly valuable for internet users and search engines as well-structured and clear URLs are easy to understand and hence help enhance user experience, which can also improve your search engine rankings. If you want to save time and effort, we recommend getting in touch with professional SEO experts, such as our in-house team at Globex Outreach, and we can help with site audits to help you rank higher in SERPs.
FAQs
What is The Importance of URLs?
A URL is beneficial for various reasons, such as the fact that it helps internet users find things on search engines. It also helps search engines show relevant content in response to search queries. A well-structured URL enables users to navigate your site effortlessly while Google ranks it in search engine results.
How to Create A Well-Structured URL?
To create a good URL, you must keep it simple and easy to remember. You can use keywords, but use hyphens to separate the words for clarity. Avoid using multiple subdomains for a well-structured URL.
What Are the Key Parts of A URL?
A URL has various parts, where the main parts are the protocol, the subdomain, the domain name, the path, and the parameters.
