After carefully crafting what you feel is your best post yet, have you ever noticed what your post’s URL is? Did you even know that there was such a thing? Better yet, did you know you could change it to become more user and SEO friendly?
Take a look…
What is a Permalink?
Permalinks are the URLs of published content on your website. They will look something like this: http://www.mypostisawesome.com. This is what people enter into their browsers when looking for particular websites and is what distinguishes each and every article across the Internet from each other. Search engines use permalinks to direct users to your website when they search for content. Think of it as your post’s own unique name.
Why Change a Permalink?
If you are using the default settings for your permalinks in WordPress your URL probably looks something like this:
Unfortunately, this can be kind of confusing. The strange description at the end may affect your post’s search results (because there are no keywords present) and readers may be confused by the unusual characters of the website. This format is definitely not user-friendly.
Changing Your Permalinks
Changing your permalinks to look “prettier” is super simple. By going to the settings area of your Dashboard and choosing Permalinks, the Common Settings screen will appear:
Simply change the setting from default to post name. And you are done!
Doing this will change the URLs of your posts to include the actual name of your post making it easier for search engines to crawl your website pages and find you. Plus it makes it easier on your readers to search for your website, find it, and even remember it later on should they need to. It is all around a better experience for all involved.
There is a lot more that can go into the crafting of “perfect” pretty permalinks. I suggest starting out with this simple tip to increase your search engine results and help your readers out. This alone will make a big difference in how your website is accessed across the web.
The post How to Change Your WordPress Permalinks appeared first on Lindsay Liedke.