How to Change URL Path to Blog Articles on the Website: A Detailed Guide
Changing the URL path of blog articles on your website might seem like a small task, but it can have a significant impact on both user experience and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The structure of your URLs plays a key role in how easily search engines can crawl and index your content, as well as how easily users can navigate your website. Whether you are looking to make your blog URLs more readable, SEO-friendly, or simply want to match your website’s branding, altering the URL structure is an important step in improving the overall user experience and search ranking. In this guide, we will walk through the step-by-step process of changing the URL path for blog articles on your website. We will also discuss best practices for structuring URLs and the impact of URL changes on SEO. Table of Contents Before diving into the steps to change the URL path for blog articles, it’s important to understand why you might want to make this change. Several factors contribute to why you should consider altering your URL structure: Search engines use URLs as one of the ranking factors. A URL that clearly reflects the content of the blog article can improve your rankings for relevant search queries. For example, using descriptive keywords in the URL path can help search engines understand what the page is about and index it properly. A clean, readable URL is easier for both users and search engines to interpret. URLs that contain complex or irrelevant strings of characters (e.g., long numbers or irrelevant terms) may confuse users and make it difficult for them to understand what the page is about. A straightforward and descriptive URL makes your website more user-friendly. Having a consistent and meaningful URL structure aligns with your branding strategy. When your URLs reflect your website’s overall design and organization, it gives your website a more professional and polished appearance. It can also improve the navigation experience, allowing users to know where they are within your site. Over time, you might restructure your website or change the focus of your blog topics. If your original URL path doesn’t reflect your new content or category structure, changing the URL path can help maintain a consistent and logical site architecture. The process for changing the URL path to your blog articles varies depending on the platform or content management system (CMS) that you are using. Below, we will cover the most common methods for changing the URL structure, primarily focusing on WordPress, one of the most widely used CMS platforms for blogs. Before making any changes, it’s important to back up your website to prevent any accidental data loss. Whether you’re using WordPress, Wix, or any other platform, make sure you have a recent backup of both your website files and database. If you’re using WordPress, you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to create a backup. Changing URLs is not something to be done haphazardly. It’s essential to plan your new URL structure ahead of time to ensure consistency and avoid potential issues like broken links or lost search rankings. Here are a few considerations when planning: Example: Changing URLs, especially for existing blog articles, can result in broken links or 404 errors if not handled properly. To ensure that visitors and search engines are properly redirected to the new URLs, you need to set up 301 redirects. This is a permanent redirect that tells search engines and browsers that the content has been moved to a new URL. Example of a 301 redirect in the After changing the URL path for your blog articles, it’s crucial to update any internal links within your website that point to the old URLs. This prevents broken links and ensures that visitors can navigate smoothly throughout your site. When changing the URL path to your blog articles, following best practices can make a big difference in both SEO and user experience. Below are some tips to keep in mind when structuring your URLs: Once the changes to your blog article URLs are live, it’s crucial to monitor their performance to ensure that the transition doesn’t negatively affect your website’s SEO or user traffic. Here’s how you can monitor the impact and performance of your new URL structure: Google Search Console is an invaluable tool when it comes to monitoring how your website is performing in Google’s search results. After changing the URLs, follow these steps: Google Analytics is another powerful tool for tracking changes in website traffic. Specifically, you can: After the URL change, keep an eye on the search engine rankings for your blog articles. A drop in rankings can sometimes happen immediately after a URL change due to the search engines reindexing the new pages. However, with proper 301 redirects in place and quality content, the rankings should stabilize over time. You can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to track the rankings of your blog pages for relevant keywords. While changing your URL paths to blog articles can improve SEO in the long run, there are some potential pitfalls you should be aware of. Here’s how to mitigate any risks: When changing URLs, make sure that the old URL is properly redirected to the new one via 301 redirects. If Google sees both the old and new URLs as separate pages with identical content, it may treat this as duplicate content, which could harm your rankings. Solution: Set up proper 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new URLs. This ensures that search engines know the new page is the “permanent” version and helps consolidate ranking signals to the new page. Internal links are critical for passing SEO value throughout your website. If the internal links still point to the old URLs after the change, it can confuse both users and search engines. Solution: Review all internal links and update them to reflect the new URL structure. This includes links in blog posts, menus, footers, and other key areas where users navigate your site. Backlinks (links from other websites to your content) are an important ranking factor. If the URL change is significant, you may lose the value of backlinks pointing to the old URLs. Solution: Whenever possible, reach out to websites that have linked to your old URLs and ask them to update the links to point to your new URLs. If this isn’t possible, ensure your 301 redirects are working well so the link equity is passed to the new URL. After changing URLs, it’s easy to overlook the impact on other pages that may have been linking to your blog articles. Broken links, either from external or internal sources, can negatively affect SEO and user experience. Solution: Use a broken link checker (like Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Ahrefs) to identify any 404 errors on your site. Fix these by updating the links or adding redirects as needed. Changing URLs can also have an effect on the data you see in your analytics. Here are a few considerations when it comes to your website’s analytics after the URL change: When changing URLs, there may be an initial dip in traffic, especially if the new URLs haven’t been properly indexed or the redirects aren’t functioning correctly. However, if everything is set up properly, the traffic should recover as Google reindexes the new pages. Sometimes, a URL change can confuse returning visitors, especially if the content they expect to see is no longer where they thought it was. This could cause them to leave the page quickly, leading to an increase in bounce rate. Solution: Use the data in Google Analytics to identify which pages have the highest bounce rates and investigate if any changes need to be made to the page content or structure. If you have specific event tracking (e.g., clicks, form submissions) or conversion goals set up for your blog articles, make sure to update those settings in your analytics account. Failing to do so could result in missing out on valuable data. Changing the URL path for blog articles on your website is a critical process that can help improve SEO, user experience, and overall website structure. However, it must be approached carefully and methodically to avoid potential pitfalls, like broken links or traffic loss. By following best practices for URL structuring, setting up 301 redirects, and monitoring the performance of your site after the change, you can ensure a smooth transition. Additionally, keeping an eye on analytics and search performance will help you gauge the effectiveness of your URL changes and make adjustments as necessary. Read More: How to Change the URL “blog/rr-events-4/rr-events-42” in OdooWhy Should You Change the URL Path to Blog Articles?
1. SEO Optimization
2. Readability and User Experience
3. Branding
4. Changing Post Topics or Categories
Step-by-Step Guide to Changing the URL Path for Blog Articles
Step 1: Back Up Your Website
Step 2: Plan Your New URL Structure
Step 3: Update the URL Path in Your CMS
For WordPress Users:
/blog/%postname%/
to include the word “blog” in the URL path before the article name.For Wix Users:
For Squarespace Users:
Step 4: Set Up 301 Redirects
How to Set Up 301 Redirects
.htaccess
file for each old URL..htaccess
file:Redirect 301 /old-blog-post /new-blog-post
Step 5: Update Internal and External Links
Internal Links
External Links
Best Practices for Structuring Blog URLs
Step 6: Monitor the Performance and Impact of URL Changes
1. Use Google Search Console
2. Use Google Analytics
3. Analyze Search Rankings
Dealing with Potential SEO Pitfalls After URL Changes
1. Avoid Duplicate Content
2. Be Mindful of Internal Linking
3. Rebuild Backlinks
4. Monitor for Broken Links
Impact of URL Changes on Website Analytics
1. Traffic Drops and Fluctuations
2. Bounce Rate Changes
3. Event Tracking and Conversions
Final Thoughts on Changing URL Paths for Blog Articles
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