Myth: stuff keywords into your product URLs to rank

Myth: stuff keywords into your product URLs to rank

'Q: Should my product URLs include the full keyword-rich title, like /blue-running-shoes-mens-lightweight-mesh-size-10?'

Short answer: No — keywords in URLs are a tiny signal, and long, attribute-stuffed slugs cause more harm than good.

The longer version: URL keywords carry minimal ranking weight — Google has said it's a very small factor. Meanwhile, baking variable attributes (color, size, gender) into the slug creates a duplicate-URL nightmare: every variant gets its own keyword-stuffed URL competing with siblings. And long URLs get truncated in the SERP and are a pain to share. A clean, stable slug like /running-shoes/acme-pro beats a 90-character keyword salad.

Keep slugs short, readable, and stable. Put attributes in the page content and structured data, not the path. And never change a ranking URL just to add keywords — you'll need redirects and risk losing equity for a near-zero gain.

Rule of thumb: URLs are for humans and stability, not keyword stuffing.

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