Special characters in URL

[Richline_Digital]

Hi There,

We're in the process of changing our URL structure to be more SEO friendly. Right now I'm struggling to find a good way to handle slashes that are part of a targeted keyword.

For example, if I have a product page and my product title is "1/2 ct Diamond Earrings in 14K Gold" which of the following URLs is the right way to go if I'm targeting the product title as the search keyword?

1. example.com/jewelry/1-2-ct-diamond-earrings-in-14k-gold
2. example.com/jewelry/12-ct-diamond-earrings-in-14k-gold
3. example.com/jewelry/1_2-ct-diamond-earrings-in-14k-gold
4. example.com/jewelry/1%2F2-ct-diamond-earrings-in-14k-gold

Thanks!

[donford]

Jonaz just to add to what others said..

#1 would be the most logical answer.

/ (forward slash) indicates a new directory so you can't use that.

% is reserved for character encoding so you shouldn't use that.

_ (underscore) joins as one word

and 12ct would be wrong

[matbennett]

doesn't seem to, no

[Richline_Digital]

Quick follow-up question: Does google treat the phrases "half" and "1/2" as the same?

[matbennett]

You could totally replace common occurrences:

• 1/2 = half
• 1/4 = quarter
• 1/3 - third
• etc

Then just remove the less common ones entirely.

[kadesmith]

I personally would go with #1.  Definitely not #4, you never want special characters in the URL.  The reason I say number 1 is because it separates the 1 from the 2 in your 1/2.  #2 could be confused for a 12ct diamond earring, WOW.  #3 I typically avoid underscores in all URLs.

To sum up my choice is #1.  Looks cleanest and when you optimize your page with the 1/2 ct wording, Google is smart enough to see that.  Overall, it won't probably make a huge difference in the end.