Changing one setting brought 30% more clicks

Changing one setting brought 30% more clicks

A new blogger had ugly web addresses like yoursite.com/?p=42. The number means nothing to a human or to Google.

A permalink is simply the readable web address of a page. He changed the format in Settings, Permalinks, to the 'Post name' option. Now his links read yoursite.com/easy-bread-recipe.

What happened over the next two months:
— Search clicks rose about 30%.
— People shared links more, because the address told them what was inside.

One caution he learned: if your site is older, changing this can break old links, so set up redirects (automatic forwarding) first. On a brand-new site there is nothing to break.

In plain words: a clear web address is a free signpost that helps both readers and search engines.