An SEO-friendly URL is readable, permanent, and keyword-rich. It follows a consistent structure throughout the catalog and avoids parameters, references, or technical fragments that confuse Google and users alike.
URL structure for an e-commerce catalog
- Products:
/products/[brand]-[product]-[attribute] - Categories:
/collections/[category]-[attribute] - Blog:
/blog/[topic]/[article-title]
Rules for a clean URL
- Lowercase only — no uppercase
- Hyphens as separators — not underscores or spaces
- No special characters (!, @, #, &, %)
- No accented characters (use ASCII)
- No stop words (the, a, and, with, for)
- No parameters in indexed URLs
Products
/products/salomon-xt-6-women-trail-blackContains: brand + product name + key attribute. Under 60 characters. No reference.
Categories
/collections/women-trail-running-shoesContains: the target keyword for the category page. No IDs.
Avoid
/products/ref-12345 — no keyword/p?id=567&cat=42 — parameters in indexed URL/products/The-Best-Shoes! — uppercase + special char| URL | Issue | SEO impact |
|---|---|---|
| /products/p-12345 | Internal reference, no keyword | Zero ranking signal |
| /products/trail%20shoes | Space encoded as %20 | Crawling and display issues |
| /products/salomon-xt-6-black | Clean, descriptive | Light positive ranking signal |
| /collections/c?id=42&page=3 | Parameter-based category | Duplicate content, crawl budget waste |
On Shopify, the URL (handle) is auto-generated from the product title. If your titles contain references (REF-12345 - Product Name), the handles will too. Edit them manually in the SEO section — or bulk-fix via Seegea.
Audit your URL structure
30 min call · no commitment
Created in France (Annecy – Chantilly) · Email & Google Meet support
FAQ
Modestly but yes. The URL is one of the on-page signals Google evaluates. A keyword in the URL is a light ranking signal. More importantly, a readable URL improves CTR in search results and makes your links easier to share — both indirect SEO benefits.