A Closer Look Into Permalinks: How To Structure Permalinks Properly

A permalink (short for permanent link) is the full URL that points to a specific blog post or page on your website. It should be clean and easy to read so both users and search engines understand what the page is about.

Clean permalinks help with SEO and click-through rates... messy, long links do the opposite.

This was touched on inside my NZIE SEO Strategy course, which I completed back in 2024, and is something I have paid close attention to since.

Why Permalink Structure Matters

Google Loves Tidy websites... and so do Your Website Users.

A clear, descriptive URL and permalink increase clickthrough rate as it helps users understand the content of a page before visiting or visually seeing the page itself.

Ten examples of bad vs good permalink structure.

❌ 10 Examples of Bad URLs / Permalinks

These are too long, confusing, or include unnecessary words. They are harder for people to read and remember, and can hurt SEO:

1. theonlineblogger .com/blog/how-to-make-money-from-home-and-earn-while-you-sleep
2. theonlineblogger .com/blog/what-is-keyword-research-and-how-to-descover-unsaturated-niches
3. theonlineblogger .com/how-to-start-blogging-with-ease-in-2026-with-no-money
4. theonlineblogger .com/blog/how-to-build-a-website-from-scratch-including-all-the-best-plugins-and-tips
5. theonlineblogger .com/blog/10-tips-for-growing-your-social-media-following-fast-in-2026
6. theonlineblogger .com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-writing-and-publishing-an-ebook-step-by-step
7. theonlineblogger .com/blog/best-strategies-for-earning-passive-income-online-in-2026-for-beginners
8. theonlineblogger .com/blog/what-is-seo-and-how-does-google-rank-your-blog-posts-explained
9. theonlineblogger .com/blog/how-to-use-wordpress-settings-to-improve-your-blog-performance-today
10. theonlineblogger .com/blog/beginners-guide-to-email-marketing-and-growing-your-list-fast

These examples are bad permalink structure. They are too long, keyword-stuffed, or include unnecessary dates/words.

✅ 10 Good URL / Permalink Alternatives

Here are the same URLs rewritten to be short, clean, and keyword-focused — which is better for SEO and user experience:

1. theonlineblogger .com/blog/how-to-make-money-from-home
2. theonlineblogger .com/blog/what-is-keyword-research
3. theonlineblogger .com/how-to-start-blogging
4. theonlineblogger .com/blog/build-a-website
5. theonlineblogger .com/blog/social-media-growth-tips
6. theonlineblogger .com/blog/ebook-writing-guide
7. theonlineblogger .com/blog/passive-income-online
8. theonlineblogger .com/blog/seo-explained
9. theonlineblogger .com/blog/wordpress-settings-guide
10. theonlineblogger .com/blog/email-marketing-basics

Good permalinks are short, descriptive, and focused on the main topic or keyword... no extra fluff or years and no stopping words unless necessary.

How Important Is It To Have Tidy Permalinks?

Many of you may be aware that there are over 200 Google Ranking Factors that Google uses to decide which pages get ranked in search engines.

In all honesty, I am not sure how much having tidy permalinks helps with SEO and UX, but I know it does help, and it's good practise to say the least.

Keep in mind that during your journey online, every little tweak in the right direction will increase your chances of traffic, conversions, and sales.

More often than not, it is not just one single event or adjustment that drives you to success, but many small tweaks that compound as we learn over time... and tidy permalinks is one of them.

Just as always, any questions... please do ask :)