URL Name vs. Article Name

1. 68

   Scott757200posted 15 years ago

   I am new to this! Is there any advantage or disadvantage in terms of attracting traffic to your page if the URL is different than the article name itself?

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      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      My URL and Hub name are always different.  I try to choose a short URL so if I want to post a link (e.g. in a forum or in my signature) it looks neat and can be read in full.  I make my Hub title longer so it includes more keywords.

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      1. 84

         Whitney05posted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Me too... Plus I'm prone to changing titles, so I like a simple few words in URL that relate to the topic and elaborate a little on the title so that I have room to change the title a little if I choose to.

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   2. 57

      guidebabaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      No. Not at all. URL of all articles here at Hubpages starts with "hubpages" but they all get traffic. Similarly the term "Google" has no relationship with "Search" and still it attracts millions of traffic.

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2. 59

   packerpackposted 15 years ago

   I didn't get it.. Could you please elaborate? Is it that you want to put a link on your Hub such that the text of the link says something while it takes the reader to some place else? For example;
   
   Google.com
   
   If this be the case then I would suggest it is a bad practice. It deceives the reader. It is same like, the board on a bus says it will take you to a place called X while it finally drops you at another place called Y. Will you like it? Will you board that bus again?

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3. 82

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   I think he means, can your article be called "10 things I'd really like to say about X" while the URL is "10thingssboutX" instead of every word and hyphens.

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4. 68

   Scott757200posted 15 years ago

   LondonGirl wins! Thats what I'm talking about. Anyone?

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   SiddSinghposted 15 years ago

   The URL with the words and hyphens is better for search engines, the way that Hubpages does on its own. As long as it contains your primary keywords, it is OK if it differs from article title. The only thing is that it should not be so different that it actually misleads the readers, or the search engines.

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6. 68

   Scott757200posted 15 years ago

   Thanks again! Appreciate the help.

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7. 0

   multimasteryposted 15 years ago

   Also if you can always include a good juicy keyword that relates to your hub in your url.  Search engines spiders eat that type of stuff up.

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8. 72

   thranaxposted 15 years ago

   Normally the same Url as the Article Name is a good thing. Sometimes you can change it for minor SEO effects, but the way you make your title should have been following those rules anyway so it would benefit you to have the same URL as the Title.
   
   ~Thranax~

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      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You don't think there is any advantage in having a short and sweet URL that's easy to share with people?

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      1. 72

         thranaxposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I never in any way shape or form said that. I said that IF the URL is the same as the Article name is could provide SEO because of it being pasted on indexed pages. Not only that, if someone saw the link saying
         www.hubpages.come/user/tracker/ARTICLE NAME
         The person is more likely to trust the url with the article name in it so they know they aren't being sent to XXX Adult Movies XXX. or any other undesired destination.
         
         ~Thranax~

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            Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for the clarification.  I agree the URL should always be a good indicator of what the Hub is about.  I hate those Tiny URL things which give you no idea where you're going!  What I'm talking about is shortening the URL while still retaining the meaning  - for instance, I have a Hub called "how to make a belly dance veil".  For the URL, I just used belly-dance-veil. 
            
            The trouble with using the whole article title is that it's too long.  When you post it in forums, it's quite often too long for people to see the all of it, so I like to try to make sure the meaningful part arrives as early as possible!

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            1. 72

               thranaxposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               TinyUrl is a very helpful tool, now you can even put what its about customarily. For instance:
               tinyurl.com/thranax
               Leads to my Profile Page on Hubpages. It could lead to a hurting site, but it doesn't. It 100% goes to my profile. Thats the only problem, if you trust who is giving you it, like a business or a well established person then its a great tool for you to use. If the person giving you the link is someone you don't trust, then they need to attempt to do more work to get you to see that there legitimate and wouldn't send you to a hurtful location.
               
               ~Thranax~

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9. 61

   britneydavidsonposted 15 years ago

   well i dont think so ...because your title reflects what you have in your article...so if you want some different title that what your article for then it will be wrong and i think that will reduce the traffic as well.so i think its better to have url same as your article's title.

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yes Britney, but it's possible to create a long title for a Hub. Quite often, people have a two-part title, almost like a title and sub-title, e.g. "How to do Internet Marketing: The Best Strategies to Make Passive Income Online".It would be mad to include all that in your URL!

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