When it comes to digital marketing, SEO is crucial to the success of any website. One important aspect of SEO is the use of URLs. URLs help search engines determine what a website is about and how it should be ranked. Relative URLs are an important part of this process. In this post, we will look at what relative URLs are and how they benefit your website.
What Is a Relative URL?
A relative URL is a URL that only includes the path to a file or page on a website, without including the domain name or protocol. The domain name and protocol are assumed based on the current page's URL.
For example, suppose you have a page called "blog" on your website. The absolute URL for this page might be "https://www.example.com/blog." However, if you create a link to this page from another page on your website using a relative URL, the link would look like this: "/blog".
How Do Relative URLs Benefit Your Website?
Relative URLs can benefit your website in several ways:
- Less prone to errors: Using relative URLs means you don't have to worry about mistyping the domain name or protocol when linking to pages on your own site.
- Easier site maintenance: If you change your domain name or move your site to a new server, you only need to update one file (the base tag), rather than every link on your site.
- Better for testing and development: Relative URLs can make it easier to test and develop your site locally before pushing changes live.
How Do Search Engines View Relative URLs?
In terms of SEO, search engines view relative URLs as equivalent to absolute URLs. As long as the link is valid and leads to a relevant page, search engines will treat it the same way they would treat an absolute URL.
How Do You Use Relative URLs in Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Relative URLs can be useful in your content marketing strategy in several ways:
- Internal linking: Using relative URLs for internal links on your site can make it easier for users to navigate and find the content they are looking for.
- Sharing content: If you want to share a link to your website on social media, using a relative URL can make the link look cleaner and more professional.
- Tracking: If you want to track clicks on your links, using a relative URL with UTM parameters can make it easier to see where your traffic is coming from.
How Do You Use Relative URLs in Your Video Marketing Strategy?
Relative URLs can also be useful in your video marketing strategy:
- Annotations: If you use annotations in your videos, using a relative URL can make it easier for viewers to click through to your site without having to type out a long URL.
- Video descriptions: Using relative URLs in video descriptions can make it easier for viewers to click through to related content on your site.
5 References
- Moz SEO Learning Center: Relative vs. Absolute Links and SEO Value
- Google Webmaster Central Blog: Moving Your Site? Don’t Break Your Links!
- Search Engine Journal: Why Relative URLs Should Be Your Default Choice
- HubSpot: The Marketer's Guide to URL Structure
- The Beginner's Guide to SEO by Moz: URLs and Best Practices
