<b>Killed keyword-stuffed folders, rankings held</b>

<b>Killed keyword-stuffed folders, rankings held</b>

Client inherited URLs like /best-cheap-blue-running-shoes-for-men-2019/. Every folder was a keyword sandwich. Looked spammy and aged badly.

The move:
— Cut to /running-shoes/mens/ clean and short
— 301 mapped old to new, one-to-one
— Put the descriptive keywords in the H1 and title where they actually help, not the path

URL keywords are a tiny ranking factor. Clean structure that a human can read in the breadcrumb beats a stuffed slug. Rankings didn't drop a spot.

Don't do this on a whim across 10k URLs without a redirect map and a staging test. Restructuring URLs is the highest-risk SEO move there is. Worth it, but slow and careful.