Google Just Updated Its URL Structure Guidelines - Here's What It Means for Your SEO

Google has quietly updated its official URL structure guidelines, and while the principles of clean, crawlable URLs remain the same, the latest version brings new clarity, stricter encoding expectations, and important changes for SEO-conscious businesses.

This article breaks down what changed, what stayed the same, and why it matters for your business’s performance in search, whether you’re already working with IMEG or considering becoming a client.

What Stayed the Same (and Still Matters)

SEO URL

The core foundations of SEO-friendly URLs haven’t changed:

Use simple, descriptive words instead of unreadable ID numbers
Use hyphens (-) to separate words, not underscores (_)
Avoid URL fragments (#) to load content
Encode non-ASCII characters using UTF-8 (especially accents, emojis, and international characters)
Keep parameters to a minimum
Normalize casing (URLs are case-sensitive: /Apple ≠ /apple)
For multi-regional sites, use subdirectories (example.com/de/) or country-specific domains (example.de)

What’s New in Google’s June 2025 Update

Shift to IETF STD 66

Google now aligns with the IETF STD 66 standard (instead of just referencing RFC 3986). While this is mostly a technical clarification, it formalizes how Google expects URLs to be structured and encoded.

Tighter Parameter Rules:

Google now explicitly warns against creative or nonstandard URL formatting like:

: colons to separate values
[…] brackets to add parameters
,, double commas as delimiters

Preferred structure:
example.com/products?category=shoes&sort=price-low-to-high&color=black,blue

Better Examples for Filtering & Navigation

URL data

Sites that generate thousands of combinations via filters (e.g., price + color + amenities) are once again on notice. Google recommends limiting these combinations and ensuring each filtered page offers distinct value.

At IMEG, we regularly audit faceted navigation to prevent crawl bloat and wasted budget. This update reinforces why we prioritize clean filtering logic.

Session IDs: Not Just Discouraged - Deprecated

Session IDs in URLs create duplicate content and crawl inefficiency. Google now strongly recommends using cookies instead.

Link Hygiene: Go Root-Relative

Google is highlighting how broken relative links can create infinite crawl loops. The fix? Use root-relative links (/category/product) instead of parent-relative ones (../../product).

Stronger Examples for Encoding

Google is doubling down on using percent encoding for all non-ASCII characters:

Arabic: https://example.com/%D9%86%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B9
Chinese: https://example.com/%E8%96%84%E8%8D%B7
Emojis: https://example.com/%F0%9F%A6%99%E2%9C%A8

Why This Matters for Your Business

Search engines don’t just look at your content. They start with your URLs. Clean, optimized URLs:

Improve crawlability and indexation
Make content easier for search engines and users to understand
Reduce duplicate content issues from dynamic parameters
Enhance performance in AI-driven search (GSO/SGE)
Improve trust and click-through rates in SERPs

Google’s 2025 update doesn’t just clarify the rules, it closes loopholes. If your URL structure is messy, inconsistent, or bloated, your site may get crawled inefficiently, indexed incorrectly, or deprioritized in search.

IMEG’s Take: What We’re Doing for Our Clients

web search

IMEG has always followed Google's best practices for URL structure, including adherence to encoding standards, link formatting, and crawl efficiency principles. This update simply reinforces the technical discipline we've applied for years.

At IMEG, we stay ahead of these changes so you don’t have to. Our team is already: