SEO is very focused on keywords entered by users, therefore by applying this SEO technique it will help you in finding the right target users for all the content you create. Of course by filtering the existing keywords, users with the right targets will benefit from the content you create. With the benefits obtained by users from the content you create, it is not impossible that users will return to your website and read the updated content you provide.
Permalink or permanent link is a permanent address for each article or page on a website. One of the main benefits of using the right permalink is increasing CTR (Click-Through Rate) or the click rate from search results.
According to the CyberChimps site, descriptive and concise permalinks can attract more clicks from search results, thereby increasing organic website traffic and search engine visibility.
Permalinks also play an important role in optimizing the URL structure of a website. A structured and easy-to-read URL not only helps visitors understand the content of the page, but also makes it easier for search engines to index and rank your page..
What is a permalink?
Permanent link or what we know as a permalink is a structure for providing a page url address on a website. The goal is so that each page can be accessed and has its own url address. Not only so that a website can be accessed, permalinks also have a function so that search engines or site visitors can easily find the website you have created. Examples of permalink applications are as follows:
In short, a permalink is the full URL that you see – and use – for every post, page, or other content on your site. It’s a permanent link, hence the name permalink. It can include your domain name (www.erzedka.com) plus what’s called a slug , the part of the URL that comes after the domain name.
Here are examples of URLs with and without permalinks:
With permalink:
https://blog.erzedka.com/seo/what-is-a-permalinkhttps://www.erzedka.com/2024/09/how-to-incease-page-speed.html
Without permalink:
https://www.yoursite.com/?p=123&cat=5https://www.yoursite.com/index.php?id=375&category_id=22
Permalinks are often considered the same as URLs and slugs. In fact, the three are different but related things. Here is an explanation of the differences between URLs, permalinks, and slugs.
- URL: The complete address to access a web page, including the domain and access path.
- Permalink: a type of URL designed to be permanent and easy to read, consisting of a domain and a slug.
- Slug: The descriptive part of a permalink that specifically identifies the content of the page.
What is the purpose of a permalink?
As previously explained, permalinks function as a URL link manager for a website. For website visitors, permalinks will make it easier for them to find pages directly on your website. They can visit your website page directly through a direct URL without searching on a search engine.
As for search engines, permalinks make it easier for search engines to classify a page according to the URL structure used. You need to note that the use of short links that contain keywords in them will be very much liked by search engines. Therefore, permalinks also greatly affect the position of the website in search results.
As mentioned earlier, permalinks have many benefits for websites, here are some permalink functions that you need to know.
1. Website SEO
Permalinks and SEO are closely related because permalinks use slugs that contain keywords in them. The presence of keywords in the URL has several important impacts on SEO, including.
- Helping search engines in the process of crawling websites. A good permalink structure makes it easier for search bots to recognize and index content effectively.
- Get a higher ranking in SERP. According to Backlinko, one of the determining factors for search engines to provide a higher ranking in search results (SERP). There is a clear correlation between the use of keywords in permalinks and better rankings because the URL provides information about the contents of the page.
- The process of building backlinks is more efficient. When third parties provide backlinks, they can easily copy permalinks containing related keywords, so they immediately understand the contents of the link without having to click on it first.
- Avoiding duplicate content with canonical URLs. URL canonicalization is the process of specifying a specific URL for a web page when several other URLs can access the same content. Permalinks with a clear and consistent URL structure will help avoid content duplication issues.
2. Make it easier for users
Permalinks also function to make it easier for users in several ways, such as ease of reading the content (human-readable) so that visitors can easily understand just by looking at the URL.
In addition, users will also find it easier to remember because descriptive and easy-to-read permalinks tend to stick in the memory. So, if they want to visit the page again on another device, they can easily type the permalink in the browser.
3. Make it easy to share content across platforms
Good and descriptive permalinks make it easy to share content on various platforms, such as social media, email, or other social media. Site visitors can easily share permalinks because they are easy to read and provide a clear picture of the content.
Likewise, when you want to share content on social media channels, descriptive permalinks will increase the likelihood of users clicking because they have an idea of the content they will see.
4. Website credibility
The use of short, clear, and easy-to-read permalinks can increase the credibility of a website. Permalinks like this make a site look more professional and trustworthy in the eyes of visitors. This can ultimately build trust from users towards the website.
Good credibility can certainly increase the level of user engagement, time spent on the site, and the potential for higher conversions.
How to set up pretty Permalinks in WordPress?
After knowing what functions permalinks can provide, next you also need to know how to create permalinks. Permalinks for websites can be created easily, one of which is through WordPress.
The first step is to open the Settings > Permalinks menu.
Then a display of several permalink structure options appears, here you can choose one of them, here is an explanation of each type of structure.
- Plain: this type only displays the post identification number without any other information. Avoid this default option if you want to get the maximum SEO score.
- Day and name: This option sets the post slug by adding the publication date and post title. This type is useful if you have several posts with the same title but want to differentiate them based on the publication date.
- Month and name: Similar to the previous option, this permalink structure adds the publication month, date, and post title in the URL.
- Numeric: used for archiving purposes so that posts can be sorted numerically. This type provides less significant SEO value, but can be helpful if you want to track and navigate previous posts based on the assigned number.
- Post name: this permalink structure is popular for site owners who publish unique or evergreen articles.
- Custom structure: If you are not satisfied with the default WordPress permalink structure, you can create a custom permalink structure according to your preferences and SEO needs.
As seen in the following custom structure example, there is an additional /%category%/%year%postname%/.
With this formula example, every time you create a new post, the permalink will automatically follow the previously set format. So, you don't need to set the permalink one by one for each new post, but only set the structure once as in the settings above.
Benefits of Permalinks for SEO
Here are the Benefits of Permalinks in SEO, including:
1. User friendly
The concept of using permalinks that has a very impact is that it makes it easier for users and readers to remember the URL of your article or website content. Of course, this will be better with additional technical aspects such as meta descriptions, adding captions and images, alt text and other adjustments so that users can linger on the content or articles presented on your website.
2. Keywords on permalink
Using the right keywords and settings can affect website SEO, Google will recommend related keywords / keywords from the permalink settings that have been made according to your article or website content
3. Simplifying the indexing and crawling process by Google
The next impact is that using permalinks will make it easier for Google in the indexing and crawling process so that users and readers can find articles or website content that is relevant to user needs.
What is the best permalink for WordPress?
A permalink script is a line of code used to set a specific permalink URL and can be customized according to your needs.
1. WordPress Permalink
In WordPress itself, the permalink feature has been simplified in use and settings according to your needs. In the screenshot attachment below, the permalink feature in WordPress is located in Dashboard> Settings> Permalinks.
We recommend that you choose the Post name permalink type on WordPress. In addition to being shorter, it is also better from an SEO perspective.
As a reference, we also attach the default .htaccess wordpress..
# BEGIN WordPressRewriteEngine OnRewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]RewriteBase /RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-fRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-dRewriteRule . /index.php [L]# END WordPress
2. Joomla Permalink
In Joomla, the permalink feature is located in the administrator dashboard > global > global configuration > seo settings.
The functions are:
- Search Engine Friendly URls: this feature activates the url permalink to make it easier to read and understand by users or search engines (Google).
- Use URL Rewriting: this feature is used to remove index.php so that url access can be read directly without the index.php suffix
- Add Suffix to URL: this feature can remove the suffix or extension ending (.html) when accessing a particular url.
- Unicode Aliasses: this feature is used to display non-Latin characters so that they can be displayed on your Joomla website.
- Site Name in Page Titles: the function of this feature is to provide additional site names in each article title/website content when displayed in search engines.
Before you configure the above functions, please note that the .htaccess setting needs to be enabled or added first so that the above functions can run on Joomla. Here we attach .htaccess Joomla:
### @package Joomla# @copyright Copyright (C) 2005 - 2020 Open Source Matters. All rights reserved.# @license GNU General Public License version 2 or later; see LICENSE.txt##### READ THIS COMPLETELY IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THIS FILE!## The line 'Options +FollowSymLinks' may cause problems with some server configurations.# It is required for the use of Apache mod_rewrite, but it may have already been set by# your server administrator in a way that disallows changing it in this .htaccess file.# If using it causes your site to produce an error, comment it out (add # to the# beginning of the line), reload your site in your browser and test your sef urls. If# they work, then it has been set by your server administrator and you do not need to# set it here.#### No directory listings<IfModule mod_autoindex.c>IndexIgnore *</IfModule>## Suppress mime type detection in browsers for unknown types<IfModule mod_headers.c>Header always set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"</IfModule>## Can be commented out if causes errors, see notes above.Options +FollowSymlinksOptions -Indexes## Disable inline JavaScript when directly opening SVG files or embedding them with the object-tag<FilesMatch "\.svg$"><IfModule mod_headers.c>Header always set Content-Security-Policy "script-src 'none'"</IfModule></FilesMatch>## Mod_rewrite in use.RewriteEngine On## Begin - Rewrite rules to block out some common exploits.# If you experience problems on your site then comment out the operations listed# below by adding a # to the beginning of the line.# This attempts to block the most common type of exploit `attempts` on Joomla!## Block any script trying to base64_encode data within the URL.RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} base64_encode[^(]*\([^)]*\) [OR]# Block any script that includes a <script> tag in URL.RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (<|%3C)([^s]*s)+cript.*(>|%3E) [NC,OR]# Block any script trying to set a PHP GLOBALS variable via URL.RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} GLOBALS(=|\[|\%[0-9A-Z]{0,2}) [OR]# Block any script trying to modify a _REQUEST variable via URL.RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} _REQUEST(=|\[|\%[0-9A-Z]{0,2})# Return 403 Forbidden header and show the content of the root home pageRewriteRule .* index.php [F]### End - Rewrite rules to block out some common exploits.# RewriteBase /## Begin - Joomla! core SEF Section.#RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]## If the requested path and file is not /index.php and the request# has not already been internally rewritten to the index.php scriptRewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/index\.php# and the requested path and file doesn't directly match a physical fileRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f# and the requested path and file doesn't directly match a physical folderRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d# internally rewrite the request to the index.php scriptRewriteRule .* index.php [L]### End - Joomla! core SEF Section.
3. Permalink CodeIgniter
For codeigniter requires adjustments related to the route, here we try to set it using the .htaccess script, you can also make adjustments on the script side according to your permalink needs. Here is the default htaccess CodeIgniter file that you can use.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>RewriteEngine OnRewriteBase /RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-fRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-dRewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?/$1 [L]</IfModule>
4. Laravel Permalink
Almost the same as CodeIgniter, the permalink configuration in Laravel is also by combining routes with .htaccess files. Here we present the default .htaccess file from Laravel.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c><IfModule mod_negotiation.c>Options -MultiViews</IfModule>RewriteEngine On# Handle Authorization HeaderRewriteCond %{HTTP:Authorization} .RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]# Redirect Trailing Slashes If Not A Folder...RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-dRewriteRule ^(.*)/$ /$1 [L,R=301]# Handle Front Controller...RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-dRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-fRewriteRule ^ index.php [L]</IfModule>
5. Lokomedia Permalink
In Lokomedia CMS, we found a pretty good configuration related to permalink and SEO needs. With a combination of .htaccess script and customized script, it can produce a user-friendly permalink for both SEO needs. Here we attach the .htaccess script and custom SEO permalink script on Lokomedia CMS:
a. htaccess
RewriteEngine OnRewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/system.*RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?/$1 [L]RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-fRewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-dRewriteRule ^(.+)$ index.php?/$1 [L]
b. Permalinkseo.php
Why would you use a permalink?
Permalinks are permanent URLs of web pages that will not change as the website develops. Determining the type of permalink structure is very important because it will affect SEO and site visibility in search engines, as well as the convenience of visitors in understanding your content.
When creating a custom permalink, be sure to follow these tips to maximize it, including:
- Use keywords that are relevant to the page content
- Make permalinks short and descriptive
- Separate each word with a hyphen (-)
- Use lowercase letters for all words
By optimizing permalinks, you not only get a better chance of ranking in search engines, but also show the credibility of your website. So, what are you waiting for? Optimize your website performance by using the right permalink...!!