Jeff Cline

Semantic URL or the correct way to build a string for SEO!

A semantic URL is essentially an URL string or address for a page that is human-readable (Designed for the customer) and conveys useful information about that page to the visitor at first blush.

An example for a page on “Medicare Supplemental Insurance” would be:

• www.example.com/Medicare-Supplemental-Insurance/

Way too often I see webmasters & agents make pages with addresses such as this:

• www.1-800-MEDIGAP.com/index.php?page_id=46

Typically we see this because it is much easier to implement ( use of WORD PRESS or CMS). The trouble is that it’s ANTI - SEO! ONPAGE factors are a part of the equation and do matter especially in the very competitive markets like insurance. Onpage may not be as important as AUTHORITY ! However, by and large, having keywords in the URL is the single most important part of on-page optimization.

Make sure your site developer implements semantic URLs correctly on your site!

Although you don’t get penalized for using a non-semantic URL structure, you’re missing out on a big opportunity… and changing it after the site has gone live can be a big headache.

Another thing to watch for is (_) vs (-) ?? You ask??

Medicare_supplemental_insurance = the keyword Medicare_supplemental_insurance   verses  Medicare-supplemental-insurance = Medicare Supplemental Insurance. The _ is not a space , so one of the options is just a huge run on word, vs the other is actually seen by the search engines as a key word phrase with spaces between them!