Serve the page at a short, readable address without parameters
Description
This criterion checks that your page’s final address, after redirects, is easy to read. iPand checks three points: a path of at most 100 characters and at most 5 levels, with no segment that is an identifier (a run of at least 8 digits or hexadecimal characters, a UUID); no parameters after “?”; a lowercase path, with words separated by hyphens rather than underscores or encoded spaces.
The last point is not evaluated on the site’s root address.
Why it matters for AI engines
An address made of words states the page’s subject before it is even opened, to people and crawlers alike. Google recommends readable words rather than long identifiers, hyphens to separate words and a single case, since it treats /Product and /product as two distinct addresses.
- Sorting, session or tracking parameters create several addresses for the same content, which search engines then have to choose between.
- A short, readable address is understood at a glance when it appears as the source of an answer.
- An address changed without a permanent redirect returns an error to the links and citations that led to the old one.
How to fix it
- 1 Write addresses made of words Build the path from a few words that describe the page, for example /shoes/kids-hiking rather than /product/8f3a91c2 or /index.php?id=482. Keep it to at most 5 levels and 100 characters.
- 2 Remove parameters from the page’s address Serve the page at an address without “?” and track that address in iPand. Campaign or sorting parameters can exist on other links, as long as the canonical of these variants points to the page’s clean address.
- 3 Switch to lowercase and hyphens Write the path in lowercase and separate words with hyphens: /size-guide rather than /Size_Guide or /size%20guide. Also prefer letters without accents: an accented letter is encoded in the address, é becoming for example %C3%A9.
- 4 Redirect old addresses with a 301 If you change an address, redirect the old one to the new one with a permanent server-side redirect (301 or 308), then update your internal links, your sitemap and the canonical. Existing links and citations then lead to the right page.
Key takeaway
A short address, made of lowercase words and without parameters, states the page’s subject; if you change it, redirect the old one with a 301. iPand checks these three points every day on the page’s final address.
