Digital marketing term
URL
The full address a browser opens: scheme, host, and path in one string. People share it, crawlers fetch it, and analytics treat it as a page — canonical choice should pin signals to one address.
Detailed explanation
Scheme (https), host (domain), and path or query make the identity people copy, search engines crawl, and analytics count as a page. The same article at two addresses splits ranking signals.
Good paths are readable and stable. Session IDs, sort parameters, or tracking junk on the canonical address create duplicates. HTTP/HTTPS and www splits belong behind a 301. UTM can stay on shared links; the indexed version should stay clean.
Decide which address is shared and canonical. Overlapping paths, broken redirects, and messy parameters waste crawl budget. When a path changes, use a 301; a 302 reads as temporary.
Frequently asked questions
- Short slug or descriptive path?
- A readable, stable path that hints at the topic helps sharing and clicks. Opaque IDs look brittle and untrustworthy.
- Do query parameters create duplicates?
- Yes — filter and sort combinations can look like extra pages. Canonicals and a parameter policy stop crawl waste.
Related terms
Internal links for the topic cluster — read these concepts together.
- Canonical URLA Canonical URL is an HTML tag that tells search engines which address should be treated as the "primary" version among multiple pages with identical or very similar content.
- RedirectAn HTTP response that sends browsers and crawlers from one URL to another; permanent (301) and temporary (302/307) codes do different jobs. Broken pages, moved content, and short campaign paths all use this mechanism.
- 301 RedirectAn HTTP response that tells browsers and crawlers a URL has moved for good, and the new address should replace it. Use it for migrations, HTTPS, and retired pages that have a real equivalent.
- DomainThe name people type and see in the address bar: brand word plus extension. Email, TLS, and canonical URLs hang off it; swapping it on a whim splits every signal.
- SSLThe certificate layer that encrypts traffic between browser and server; in practice you see TLS and HTTPS. The padlock is a trust cue, and HTTPS is a light ranking signal as well.
- SEOSEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the set of technical and content practices that help a website rank more visibly in organic search results.