The short answer: use readable words in your page addresses, joined by hyphens. /kitchen-fitters-galway/ tells people and Google what the page is about. /?p=123 doesn’t. If you change a live address, add a 301 redirect from the old one.
This is episode 7 of SEO in 60 seconds, our series of one fix per episode for small business websites. The full series sits in our on page SEO basics overview.
What makes a good page address?
Google recommends readable words rather than long ID numbers, and hyphens rather than underscores to separate words. Its own example: summer-clothing, not summer_clothing.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| /?p=123 | /kitchen-fitters-galway/ |
| /2019/03/our-new-kitchen-prices-for-2019/ | /kitchen-prices/ |
| /services_kitchen_fitting/ | /kitchen-fitting/ |
Drop dates and filler words where the address still reads naturally. Keep it lower case, because Google treats /Kitchens and /kitchens as different addresses.
How do you set this up in WordPress?
- On a new site, go to Settings, then Permalinks, and choose Post name.
- To change one page, open it and edit the permalink or URL slug field under the title.
- On a live site, don’t change the permalink setting without a redirect plan. It changes every address at once.
What if you change a live address?
- Change the slug.
- Add a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one, using a plugin such as Redirection.
- Update your internal links to the new address.
Google uses a permanent redirect as a signal that the new address should be the one it shows. Only use one when you’re sure you won’t change it back.
What are the common mistakes?
- Changing addresses without redirects.
- Dates in pages that don’t go out of date, like services.
- Very long slugs made automatically from long titles.
Read the transcript
“Look at your page address. Question mark, p equals 1 2 3. That tells nobody anything. Kitchen fitters Galway tells everyone. Use words joined by hyphens. Drop dates and filler words. Changing a live address? Add a 301 redirect from the old one. More SEO tips every week. Follow for episode 8, find your worst page.”
Want a hand?
Moving to a new site soon? Planning the redirects is part of every site we build.
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Sources
- URL structure best practices for Google Search, Google Search Central. Checked 27 October 2026.
- Redirects and Google Search, Google Search Central. Checked 27 October 2026.
Previous episode: internal links. Next episode: the Search Console check. Back to the series overview.