An SEO-friendly URL is one that is designed to be clear, descriptive, and accessible. It provides users and search engines with a good idea of what the page content is about before they even click on it. Here are key characteristics and best practices for creating an effective SEO-friendly URL structure:

• Keep them Short and Simple: Shorter URLs are generally preferred. They are easier for users to read, copy, share, and remember. While search engines can process long URLs, concise ones often perform better and are less likely to be truncated in search results or when shared. Google Search Central emphasizes creating a simple URL structure.
• Be Descriptive and Relevant: The URL should accurately reflect the page’s content. Users should be able to make a reasonable guess about the page topic just by looking at the URL.
• Include Target Keywords (Naturally): Where appropriate and natural, incorporate your primary target keyword(s) into the URL. This can provide a minor relevance signal to search engines and helps users identify the page’s topic. Avoid keyword stuffing; the keyword should fit contextually.
• Use Hyphens to Separate Words: When your URL slug (the part after the domain name) contains multiple words, use hyphens (-) to separate them (e.g., `your-awesome-page-title`). Avoid underscores (_), spaces (which get encoded as `%20`), or other special characters, as hyphens are standard and preferred by search engines for word separation.
• Use Lowercase Letters: URLs can be case-sensitive on some servers. To avoid potential duplicate content issues or 404 errors, it’s a best practice to use only lowercase letters in your URLs.
• Maintain a Consistent Structure: Adopt a consistent URL structure across your website. This helps with site organization and makes it easier for users and search engines to understand your site’s hierarchy.
• Avoid Unnecessary Parameters & Dynamic URLs Where Possible: Static, descriptive URLs are generally better for SEO than long, complex URLs with multiple parameters (e.g., `?id=123&cat=45&session=xyz`). While search engines can crawl dynamic URLs, simpler ones are often preferred for readability and shareability. If parameters are necessary, ensure they are handled correctly to avoid duplicate content issues.
• Reflect Site Hierarchy (If Applicable): For larger sites, URLs can reflect the folder structure or category hierarchy, helping users understand where they are within the site (e.g., `example.com/services/on-page-seo/`). However, try to avoid overly deep nesting that makes URLs excessively long.

A well-thought-out URL structure not only aids in better search engine crawling and indexing but also enhances the user experience by providing clear, trustworthy navigation cues. When users see a clean, logical URL, they are more likely to trust the link and understand its destination, which can positively impact click-through rates from SERPs, emails, or social media shares. This careful attention to your URLs is a key part of comprehensive page optimization for SEO.