Creating SEO Friendly WordPress URLs
Setting Permalinks to Create SEO Friendly URLs
By default, WordPress uses dynamic web URLs that may hinder some
of your search engine optimization efforts. This challenge can be
easily overcome simply by creating SEO friendly WordPress URLs.
Thankfully the WordPress admin panel is set up so that you can implement
this technique in a matter of minutes!
STEP 1 - Open Admin Control Panel
Go to the admin control panel.
Click on: Options > Permalinks
 view
full-size screenshot
STEP 2 - Edit Permalink Structure
Copy and paste the code for the structure you prefer, to the
empty text box next to "structure"
I prefer the following structure:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/
view
screenshot
When finished, click on: Update Permalink Structure
view
screenshot
In the majority of cases this will automatically create the structure
for you, making it unnecessary for us to change anything in the
.htaccess file.
STEP 3 - Verify Link Structure
After updating the permalinks on your blog, you need
to VERIFY that the links work on your blog. If you click the title
of the test post, does it work? Do the category links work? The
archive?
If not, you may not have NOT updated your permalinks correctly.
The most likely scenario is that the permissions were set too
strict for the htaccess file when you updated.
Troubleshooting Broken WordPress Links
Go to the admin control panel.
Click on: Options > Permalinks
view
screenshot
Now, just set this window to the side. I simply want it open and
ready to go. We will come back to it in a moment.
Using your FTP program, locate the .htaccess file on your server.
Right hand click on the file and select "properties".
While we are doing the updating we need this file to be writeable.
Change the number to 666. If you can't see numbers, but only
settings, it should have a checkmark in every setting EXCEPT execute.
Click OK.
Do not close your FTP program, as you will be return to it in
a moment.
Return to the Permalinks page we had open and waiting
Copy and paste the code for the structure you prefer, to the
empty text box next to "structure"
I prefer the following structure:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/
view
screenshot
When finished, click on: Update Permalink Structure
view
screenshot
Now view your blog and see if the links are working again.
If so, we can now return the permissions on the .htaccess file
back to its normal settings, which is: 644, or a check in owner,
group and world for read, and a check in owner for write.
Click on: Okay
You're done! That's all there is to it. You should now be ready
to move forward to a tutorial on how to
Configure WordPress Categories.
I WILL SEE YOU AT THE TOP!
Mississippi Web Designer and SEO Training Specialist
Owner GNC Web Creations and Mississippi Photo Gallery
1and1 Internet Website Hosting
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