Changing page name URL's for better SEO rankings

I am trying to figure out the best way to change my site page URL's for better SEO rankings. I see there is a couple of Plugins to do this but they have not been updated in a while. One even say's:
** USE AT OWN RISK **

Can someone point me in the right direction on what is the best way to do this?

Thanks in advance
Dave

Maynards:

I am trying to figure out the best way to change my site page URL's for better SEO rankings. I see there is a couple of Plugins to do this but they have not been updated in a while. One even say's:
** USE AT OWN RISK **

Can someone point me in the right direction on what is the best way to do this?

Thanks in advance
Dave

I use this plugin on one of my sites:

https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=889

As far as helping with SEO, I'm not so sure that it makes a difference, but http://yourstore.com/test-product is easier for customers to remember as opposed to http://yourstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=5

answer=42:

I use this plugin on one of my sites:

https://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=889

As far as helping with SEO, I'm not so sure that it makes a difference, but http://yourstore.com/test-product is easier for customers to remember as opposed to http://yourstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=5

Thanks for your help. I have give it a look.
Appreciate it.

Having a "friendly" url does NOT improve your page ranking. This has been discussed to death multiple times in this forum by people far more knowledgeable that me. Do not mess with your urls unless you have a real reason to do so.

That link to that plugin is a old version not compatible with php7: use the version on my github.

Why do I use it? Because we send links in emails a lot and I like the "friendly" url more than the default one. Nothing to do with SEO.

torvista:

Having a "friendly" url does NOT improve your page ranking. This has been discussed to death multiple times in this forum by people far more knowledgeable that me. Do not mess with your urls unless you have a real reason to do so.

That link to that plugin is a old version not compatible with php7: use the version on my github.

Why do I use it? Because we send links in emails a lot and I like the "friendly" url more than the default one. Nothing to do with SEO.

Thanks for your input.
I am trying to learn about SEO and everything I read about they say how important it is to have friendly URL's.
I also find it very hard to search this forum to come up with relevant information on a topic that I seek. I must be doing somthing wrong when I search.

Maynards:

Thanks for your input.
I am trying to learn about SEO and everything I read about they say how important it is to have friendly URL's.
***I also find it very hard to search this forum to come up with relevant information ***on a topic that I seek. I must be doing somthing wrong when I search.
FWIW, I ***never ***use the forum's search to (er) search for posts and/or topics; I use good old Google instead.

Maynards:

Thanks for your input.
I am trying to learn about SEO and everything I read about they say how important it is to have friendly URL's.
I also find it very hard to search this forum to come up with relevant information on a topic that I seek. I must be doing somthing wrong when I search.
As great and powerful as this forum software is, the one area it lacks in quality is its search engine. Sometimes one needs to go outside of the forum and look in.

Please let me also say that this forum software as I have come to learn is some package off the shelf. While there are some parts that have been improved by the team, it is basically off the shelf and may have its own issues, but those things are not directly related to the ZC software itself. Hopefully that makes sense.

torvista:

Having a "friendly" url does NOT improve your page ranking. This has been discussed to death multiple times in this forum by people far more knowledgeable that me. Do not mess with your urls unless you have a real reason to do so.

That link to that plugin is a old version not compatible with php7: use the version on my github.

Why do I use it? Because we send links in emails a lot and I like the "friendly" url more than the default one. Nothing to do with SEO.

Google may have shifted their requirements: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/url-structure

A site's URL structure should be as simple as possible. Consider organizing your content so that URLs are constructed logically and in a manner that is most intelligible to humans (when possible, readable words rather than long ID numbers). For example, if you're searching for information about aviation, the following URL can help you decide whether to click that link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation

Nowhere in that article does Google promise better ranking. If your site passes Chrome's Lighthouse with mid-90s, you'll beat the socks off "friendly URLs".

Believe me, if I had found proof of result over effort in my 17 years with ZC, I would be endorsing it. Until I see that proof, I will continue to keep my clients on the first or second page through the more important methods. Content, correctness, compatibility.

dbltoe:

Believe me, if I had found proof of result over effort in my 17 years with ZC, I would be endorsing it. Until I see that proof, I will continue to keep my clients on the first or second page through the more important methods. Content, correctness, compatibility.

Amen and amen.

swguy:

Amen and amen.

I just did a search on google and every single organic results ALL had friendly URLs. ALL of them. Not a single one had php urls.

And, if you Google "Kayak Paddle Keeper Kit" (without the quotes), you'll find topkayakerDOTcom on the second page of 6,140,000.

Two things to note.

First, I used DOT in the link so the search engines would not catch the link. Why? At the owner's request as business has doubled since they came to us. 60k a month on just parts is not bad. They are having a hard time processing orders and handling phones with their small staff. I know. Are they bragging or complaining?

Second is that the search did not match the product title and was not done using quotes. If I would have used "Paddle and Pole Keeper Kit" (again, without the quotes), they come in fourth with Amazon at numbers one and two. If I use the quotes, They come in at number two behind eBay.

The number three, when not using the quotes, has a Lighthouse rating for their page at 37, 71, 73, and 83. On the DOTcom, we find its rankings are 84, 98, 93, and 100. BTW, the 100 is the SEO rank.

From this, you might argue that "friendly URLs" got them past our customer. We don't know if they are paying anything for position. I do know that the minor fixes for that particular page will be a LOT easier to accomplish than most URL changes are with "friendly URLs." It's a matter of bang for your buck. So far (and I'm not through looking), the time and money spent as a result of problems with URLs is too much to make it worth the expense when I can get really close to the top of 6 million posts with content, correctness, and compatibility.

You've already posted a problem in another thread and the two major URL mods have over 1800 posts. I'd rather have to fix an internal link to up my lighthouse score than what you will have to go through with your next URL hiccup. The main problem with them is they are a pain when they go wrong. And, yes, I said when instead of if.