Google URL structure guidelines

Google URL structure guidelines,
as documented

Which URLs Google can crawl efficiently, how to write them and the problems that create too many URLs, in Google's own words. Verified from Google's pages on 2026-10-07.

Google says that if your URLs don't meet its criteria, Google Search will likely crawl your site inefficiently. This page lists what Google documents about URL structure, with the wording taken from its page.

What Google documents

Topic	What Google says	Source
Crawlable URLs	“If your URLs don't meet the following criteria, Google Search will likely crawl your site inefficiently”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
URL standard	“Google Search supports URLs as defined by IETF STD 66 .”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Reserved characters	“Characters defined by the standard as reserved must be percent encoded .”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Fragments	“Don't use fragments to change the content of a page, as Google Search generally doesn't support URL fragments.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
JavaScript and URLs	“If you're using JavaScript to change content, use the History API instead.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Parameter encoding	“When specifying URL parameters, use the following common encoding: an equal sign ( = ) to separate key-value pairs and add additional parameters with an ampersand ( & ).”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Descriptive URLs	“When possible, use readable words rather than long ID numbers in your URLs.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Audience language	“Use words in your audience's language in the URL (and, if applicable, transliterated words).”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Non-ASCII characters	“characters in the non-ASCII range should be percent encoded.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Hyphens	“we recommend using hyphens ( - ) instead of underscores ( _ ) to separate words in your URLs”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Fewer parameters	“Whenever possible, shorten URLs by trimming unnecessary parameters (meaning, parameters that don't change the content).”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Case sensitivity	“Google Search's URL handling is case sensitive (for example, Google treats both /APPLE and /apple as distinct URLs with their own content).”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
One case	“If upper and lower case text in a URL is treated the same by your web server, convert all text to the same case so it's easier for Google to determine that URLs reference the same page.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Multi-regional sites	“consider using a URL structure that makes it easy to geotarget your site.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Complex URLs	“Overly complex URLs, especially those containing multiple parameters, can cause problems for crawlers by creating unnecessarily high numbers of URLs that point to identical or similar content on your site.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
What it costs	“Googlebot may consume much more bandwidth than necessary, or Google Search may be unable to completely index all the content on your site.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Additive filters	“When filters can be combined in an additive manner (for example: hotels on the beach and with a fitness center), the number of URLs (views of data) in the sites explodes.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07

Read on 2026-10-07. Google's page showed "Last updated 2025-12-10 UTC". Notes under a quote are close paraphrases of the same page. This page covers only what Google documents; other search engines may differ.

Examples

Google's own examples of recommended and not recommended URLs.

Recommended: https://example.com/summer-clothing/filter?color-profile=dark-grey
Not recommended: https://example.com/summer_clothing/filter?color_profile=dark_grey
Not recommended: https://example.com/greendress

Recommended: https://example.com/wiki/Aviation
Not recommended: https://example.com/index.php?topic=42&area=3a5ebc944f41daa6f849f730f1

Recommended: https://example.com/category?category=dresses&sort=low-to-high&sid=789
Not recommended: https://example.com/category?[category:dresses][sort:price-low-to-high][sid:789]

Not recommended (a fragment used for content): https://example.com/#/potatoes

Multi-regional: https://example.de  or  https://example.com/de/

Check a list of URLs against these guidelines with the URL structure checker, build a clean slug with the free URL slug generator, tag campaign links with the UTM builder (parameters that don't change the content, which Google suggests trimming where possible), and see Google's canonical URL signals and Google's redirect types.

Rules to remember

Google says to use hyphens, readable words and one letter case in URLs.
Google says not to use fragments to change page content, and to use the History API instead.
Google says overly complex URLs with many parameters can create more URLs than Googlebot needs to crawl.

Pagination and URL parameters in Google's words: Google pagination guidance.

Questions

Should I use hyphens or underscores in URLs?

Google recommends hyphens instead of underscores to separate words, because it helps users and search engines better identify concepts in the URL. It does not recommend underscores, which are commonly used to join concepts together, as in programming function names, and it does not recommend joining words together.

Are URLs case sensitive for Google?

Yes. Google says its URL handling is case sensitive, so /APPLE and /apple are distinct URLs with their own content. If your server treats them the same, it suggests converting all text to the same case so it's easier for Google to see that they reference the same page.

Can I use # fragments for different content?

Google says not to use fragments to change the content of a page, because Google Search generally doesn't support URL fragments. If you're using JavaScript to change content, it says to use the History API instead.

How should URL parameters be written?

Google says to use an equal sign to separate key-value pairs and an ampersand to add more parameters, and that multiple values for the same key can be listed with a character that doesn't conflict with IETF STD 66, such as a comma.

Should URLs contain words or ID numbers?

Google says to use readable words rather than long ID numbers when possible, in your audience's language, and to percent encode non-ASCII characters in links.

What URL problems waste crawling?

Google says overly complex URLs, especially with multiple parameters, can create unnecessarily high numbers of URLs pointing to identical or similar content, so Googlebot may use more bandwidth than necessary or Google Search may be unable to index all your content. It lists additive filtering and irrelevant parameters among the causes.

How current is this page?

Every row was read from Google's page on 2026-10-07, which showed "Last updated 2025-12-10 UTC". Google can change its documentation, so treat the linked page as the final word.

Sources

URL structure best practices for Google Search (Google Search Central), read on 2026-10-07

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