URL Structure's Effect on SEO

[maxcarnage]

Hello all,

I have a client who currently has a very poor URL structure. As it stands, their URLs are formatted in the following manner:

http://www.domain.com/category/subcategory/page

In all my years of SEO, however, I have always tried to implement the following format:

http://www.domain.com/category/page

The web designer for this particular project has been very reluctant to change the structure for obvious reasons, but I'm convinced that by modifying the URL structure, SEO will improve.

I am correct in thinking this?

Likewise, if I am able to get the URL structure changed, what do I need to look out for to make sure we don't lose any traction for our keyword terms?

Any and all insight/suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Hi,

...but I'm convinced that by modifying the URL structure, SEO will improve. I am correct in thinking this?

Not necessarily. I tend to look at the site and product as a whole first and see which URL makes the most sense.

Imagine you are a new visitor - does the category / subcategory make sense and explain the product / service more readily than just the category / page.

It could very well be that removing the subcategory is the right thing to do, but you aren't going to be guaranteed a ranking increase if this is amended.

-Andy

[DirkC]

The way you structure the url has no impact on SEO performance (unless the url becomes very long & unreadable).

The depth of a site has an impact (how many clicks do I need from the homepage to get to a page) but this is completely unrelated to the folder structure. A good article on why it's good to have a certain structure in your url can be found here: http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/structured-urls/

As changing URL's always carries a risk & doesn't bring SEO benefit I wouldn't change them just for the sake of changing them.

Dirk