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May 6, 2008

Are Long URLs Spammy?

I'm sure you've seen those URLs -- www.domain.com/4-star-hotel-in-barcelona-spain.php. The question is: is this a tactic that we consider spammy?

Not really, according to a High Rankings Forum thread. On the other hand, if it was www.domain.com/4-star-hotel-apartment-penthouse-keyword4-keyword5-keyword6-in-barcelona.php, that may raise some eyebrows. Additionally, if you think about it, unless you change the post slug of a WordPress post, thousands of these long URLs are generated every single day. (Tip: Shorter URLs are easier to remember and rock.)

At Cre8asite Forums, the question regarding dashes in a URL is discussed. Is it better than an underscore? Back on the High Rankings discussion, dashes are the default delimiter, if that gives any indication to a widespread preference, but it really doesn't matter.

But if it comes to the actual domain name, it's a lot easier (for you) to go with one that lacks the dash to make it easier for users to remember. They're less inclined to type the dash and it takes a bit of a learning curve. I found that adjustment necessary with brand new webmaster forum Webmaster Talk.

Forum discussion continues at High Rankings Forum and Cre8asite Forum.



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posted Tamar Weinberg in Search Engine Optimization at May 6, 2008 9:31 AM Comments (6)

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Comments

Let's face it: short & semantic URL's rock. There's no reason for long one if there's no need to.

Sure your computer is plenty of files but... Would you save a file in your computer with a long name?

 

Posted by Oscar R at May 6, 2008 15:00

>>dashes are the default delimiter, if that gives any indication to a widespread >>preference, but it really doesn't matter.

Google spoke so about this question:

>>In general, we break words on punctuation, so if you use punctuation as separators, you're providing Google a useful signal for parsing your URLs.


From PubCon in Las Vegas Google Guru Michael Wyszomierskiat, spoke about this and answer to other important question.

Here the interview: http://www.webxall.com/google.seo.faq.html

 

Posted by Angelo Palma at May 7, 2008 02:14

I don't think long URL are spammy in any way. Nodoubt, a hyphen is better than an underscore sign and it is more SE friendly :)

 

Posted by No Name at May 7, 2008 02:23

We have performed an experiment regarding the url's (click my name to see the results). Actually the results we have seen is surprising. What surprises most is the fact that Google ranks a document based on keywords in the url - even if the word does not appear at all in the title, metatags or the body of the document.

 

Posted by Bjorn Solstad at May 7, 2008 04:48

If long URLs really were spammy, every blog on the planet would be banned or penalized.

Some members of the SEO community are apparently confusing long URLs with the hypothetical long-hyphenated-domain-name spam signal (which Matt Cutts obliquely referred to in a blog post a couple of years ago).

Having a long domain name is not a bad thing. Having more than one hyphen in your domain name is not a bad thing. Using a spammy call-to-actin as a domain name may invite some closer scrutiny from a search engine.

Or, it may not matter at all.

 

Posted by Michael Martinez at May 7, 2008 23:36

The question is how long could be a URL?

 

Posted by jd at May 15, 2008 15:19

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