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URL structure checker

Reads your whole list of addresses and finds the patterns: capitals that split a page in two, dates that make it stale, and the same page living at two URLs.

This is one of the checks inside Growth Score

Growth Score runs it with the rest on your live site, scores the result and shows what to fix first.

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Why it matters

Why this is worth checking

An address is the part of a page a person reads before they click and the part that is most expensive to change afterwards, because every link to it breaks.

Search treats two addresses for one page as two pages competing with each other, which is a fight neither wins.

What it reads

What it looks at

  • Capitals that split one page in two
  • Length a search result will show
  • Query strings doing a path's job
  • One page reached by two addresses

Reading a result

What a finding means

Each finding says what was seen. This is what it tells you about the page.

Capitals in a pathTwo spellings can be treated as two pages that compete.
Query strings doing a path's jobThe address is hard to read, share and rank.
One page, two addressesSearch must choose between them, and may choose the wrong one.

Common fixes

What to change first

The fixes that come up most, in the order they usually pay off.

Use lowercase pathsPick lowercase for every address and redirect the other spellings to it.
Keep the path readablePut the topic in the path, and keep query strings for filters.
Pick one addressSet a canonical and redirect the extra versions to the main one.

In Growth Score

Feeds Findability

Whether search engines can find and then list your pages. txt and sitemap, your page titles and descriptions, and how your pages are addressed.

It reads the addresses, not the pages. Whether one answers or 404s needs a request, and this makes none.

Glossary

Terms behind this check

Canonical URLThe preferred address for a page that can be reached through several URLs.RedirectAn instruction that sends visitors and bots from one URL to another.Duplicate contentSubstantially identical text that appears at more than one web address.

Go deeper

Guides that cover it

When to redesign your siteHow to tell a real redesign need from vanity, and how to do it without losing rankings.Fast for real visitorsRead real visits, then fix images, scripts, layout shifts and the slow start.

FAQ

Questions

Should I change my live addresses?

Only with a redirect from the old one. Every link to an address breaks the day it changes.

Does it check that pages load?

No. It reads the addresses. Whether each one answers needs a request per page.

Does the check change my site?

No. It only reads. Nothing is installed, edited or sent to your site by a check.

The other 11

The rest of the checks

Run it with the rest

Growth Score reads your whole site, scores it against sites like yours and ranks what to fix.

Test your whole siteAll the checks

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