As a blogger, the structure and organization of your site's URLs (also known as permalinks) is an important consideration.
The permalinks are the web addresses that point to each of your blog posts and pages.
When set up properly, permalinks can help boost your site's search engine optimization (SEO) and make your content more user-friendly.
However, the default permalink structure in Blogger often results in long, messy URLs that include dates, post titles, categories, and other elements that create clutter.
In this guide, I'll show you how to customize your Blogger permalink settings to remove the excess details and craft clean, SEO-friendly URLs for your site.
With just a few quick changes, you can transform your permalinks from chaotic to clean and give your blog an instant facelift.
What Are Blogger Permalinks and Why Do They Matter?
Blogger permalinks are the URLs that point to your individual blog posts.
By default, Blogger assigns posts URLS that contain the post date and title, for example, www.yourblog.com/2021/01/my-post-title.html.
These default permalinks are not ideal for SEO.
Search engines prefer URLs that are clean, short, and keyword-rich.
Default Blogger permalinks are long, contain characters like slashes and hyphens, and provide little insight into the post topic or keywords.
For the best SEO, I recommend customizing your Blogger permalinks.
Custom permalinks allow you to choose a short, memorable URL structure that contains your target keywords.
For example, you might change the permalink for a post on "The Best Hiking Trails in Arizona" to www.yourblog.com/arizona-hiking-trails.
This URL is cleaner, shorter, and highlights the post's key topic and location, which search engines and readers both prefer.
Changing your permalink structure takes just a few clicks in Blogger but can have a big impact on your search rankings and traffic.
Short, keyword-rich URLs tend to rank higher in search results and are also easier for readers to remember and share.
Over time, as search engines crawl the new permalinks, your posts may start ranking higher for important keywords, which drives more organic traffic to your site.
The Problems With Default Blogger URL Structure
As a blogger, having clean and optimized permalinks is important for search engine optimization (SEO) and overall site organization.
The default permalink structure in Blogger can cause issues, so updating it is worthwhile.
Messy URLs
The default permalink structure in Blogger results in lengthy, messy URLs that contain unnecessary information like dates, post titles with symbols and spaces, or ‘?updated-max’ tags.
These URLs are not user or SEO friendly.
For example, a default Blogger permalink may appear as:
myblog.blogspot.com/2019/12/my-post-title-with-symbols.html
Hard to Read
Default Blogger permalinks are not easy for users to read, remember or share.
They contain unnecessary information and messy formatting that does not logically organize content on your site.
Fixing the Problem
To resolve these issues, I recommend updating your Blogger permalink structure to use clean, hierarchical post titles.
You can customize your permalinks in the Blogger Settings by selecting ‘Post name’ as the permalink style.
This will remove the excess information and result in a permalink like:
myblog.blogspot.com/my-post-title
Updating your permalink structure is an easy way to instantly improve your blog’s SEO and organization.
Clean permalinks are a best practice that all bloggers should implement.
Benefits of Removing Dates and .Html From Blogger URLs
Removing dates and .html extensions from Blogger URLs, also known as permalinks, provides several benefits for both readers and search engine optimization (SEO).
Improved Readability
URLs without dates or .html extensions appear cleaner and more attractive to readers.
Permalinks like /blog/my-post/ are easier to remember and share than /blog/my-post-2019-01-15.html.
Readers expect post titles in URLs and may skip over posts with cluttered, difficult to read permalinks.
Future-Proof URLs
Permalinks without dates or file extensions won’t become outdated if you change your blog’s domain or platform in the future.
If you switch from Blogger to WordPress, for example, your old Blogger URLs with .html extensions would no longer work.
Clean permalinks will redirect properly to the new site, maintaining their SEO value and preventing 404 errors for visitors and search engines.
Consistent Branding
A clean permalink structure with /category/post-title/ URLs establishes a simple, consistent brand for your blog.
Readers come to recognize and expect this pattern, making your blog seem professionally designed and organized.
Permalinks with dates, categories and .html extensions appear cluttered and can be off-putting to visitors.
How To Remove Year And Month, .html and m=1 From Blogger Post URL
It's Not Possible To Remove year and month in blogger url.
But , By Using Some Script Code We Can Hide Date From Post URL.
Let's , Know How To Do It ..
1. Go Blogger Blog Dashboard.
2. Click To Theme Section.
3. Now , Click To Edit HTML.
4. Copy Below Script Code.
<script type="text/javascript">//<![CDATA[// BloggerJS v0.3.1// Copyright (c) 2017-2018 Kenny Cruz// Licensed under the MIT Licensevar urlTotal,nextPageToken,postsDatePrefix=!1,accessOnly=!1,useApiV3=!1,apiKey="",blogId="",postsOrPages=["pages","posts"],jsonIndex=1,secondRequest=!0,feedPriority=0,amp="&"[0];function urlVal(){var e=window.location.pathname,t=e.length;return".html"===e.substring(t-5)?0:t>1?1:2}function urlMod(){var e=window.location.pathname;"p"===e.substring(1,2)?(e=(e=e.substring(e.indexOf("/",1)+1)).substr(0,e.indexOf(".html")),history.replaceState(null,null,"../"+e)):(e=(e=postsDatePrefix?e.substring(1):e.substring(e.indexOf("/",7)+1)).substr(0,e.indexOf(".html")),history.replaceState(null,null,"../../"+e))}function urlSearch(e,t){var n=e+".html";t.forEach(function(e){-1!==e.search(n)&&(window.location=e)})}function urlManager(){var e=urlVal();0===e?accessOnly||urlMod():1===e?getJSON(postsOrPages[feedPriority],1):2===e&&(accessOnly||history.replaceState(null,null,"/"))}function getJSON(e,t){var n=document.createElement("script");if(useApiV3){var o="https://www.googleapis.com/blogger/v3/blogs/"+blogId+"/"+e+"?key="+apiKey+"#maxResults=500#fields=nextPageToken%2Citems(url)#callback=bloggerJSON";nextPageToken&&(o+="#pageToken="+nextPageToken),nextPageToken=void 0}else o=window.location.protocol+"//"+window.location.hostname+"/feeds/"+e+"/default?start-index="+t+"#max-results=150#orderby=published#alt=json-in-script#callback=bloggerJSON";o=o.replace(/#/g,amp),n.type="text/javascript",n.src=o,document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(n)}function bloggerJSON(e){var t=[];if(useApiV3||void 0===urlTotal&&(urlTotal=parseInt(e.feed.openSearch$totalResults.$t)),useApiV3){try{e.items.forEach(function(e,n){t.push(e.url)})}catch(e){}nextPageToken=e.nextPageToken}else try{e.feed.entry.forEach(function(n,o){var r=e.feed.entry[o];r.link.forEach(function(e,n){"alternate"===r.link[n].rel&&t.push(r.link[n].href)})})}catch(e){}urlSearch(window.location.pathname,t),urlTotal>150?(jsonIndex+=150,urlTotal-=150,getJSON(postsOrPages[feedPriority],jsonIndex)):nextPageToken?getJSON(postsOrPages[feedPriority]):secondRequest&&(nextPageToken=void 0,urlTotal=void 0,jsonIndex=1,secondRequest=!1,0===feedPriority?(feedPriority=1,getJSON("posts",1)):1===feedPriority&&(feedPriority=0,getJSON("pages",1)))}function bloggerJS(e){e&&(feedPriority=e),urlManager()}bloggerJS();//]]></script>
5. Paste The Copied Code Before </Head> Tag Or After <Head> Tag In Theme HTML.
6. Save The Theme.
Is it good practice to Remove Date , .html or m=1 from blogger permalink?
Dealing With Broken Links After Changing Permalinks
When changing your Blogger permalink structure, it's inevitable that some links will break.
As an SEO professional, dealing with broken links after migrating to a new permalink structure is an important step to maintain your search rankings and user experience.
Identify Broken Links
The first step is to identify which links are broken after changing your permalink structure.
You can use a backlink checker tool to crawl your site and report any 404 errors.
Be sure to check links to your site from external sources as well.
These broken backlinks will need to be redirected to the correct URL.
Set Up 301 Redirects
For any broken links, set up 301 redirects that point users and search engines to the correct URL.
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that passes on the link equity from the broken link to the new destination.
This helps avoid any negative impact on your search rankings.
You can set up 301 redirects at the server level or use a plugin to handle redirects.
Update Internal Links
Don't forget to update any internal links on your site that point to the old permalink structure.
Search for any links using your site's internal search feature and update them to the new URL.
Failing to update internal links can confuse users and search engines, and the broken links will still need to be redirected.
Inform Referring Sites
If you have links from other authoritative sites pointing to your old permalink structure, it's a good idea to inform them of the changes.
Ask them to update any links to point to your new URLs.
The more high-quality referring domains that link to your new permalinks, the less likely you are to see any drop in search traffic or rankings.
Migrating to a new permalink structure inevitably means dealing with broken links, both internal and external.
By identifying broken links, setting up proper 301 redirects, updating internal links, and informing referring sites of changes, you can minimize any negative impacts on your search optimization efforts and user experience.
With time and consistent link building to the new permalinks, any temporary effects should be neutralized.
Tips for Creating SEO-Friendly Custom Permalinks
As an SEO professional, one of the first things I recommend to clients looking to improve their search engine rankings is to optimize their blog permalink structure.
The default permalink structure for most blogging platforms includes dates, post titles, categories, and other elements that create lengthy, cluttered URLs.
These types of URLs are not ideal for search engine optimization.
To create cleaner, more SEO-friendly permalinks:
Keep URLs short and simple
Aim for permalinks that are less than 70 characters in length.
Shorter URLs are easier for search engines to crawl and index.
They are also more user-friendly and easier to remember or share on social media.
Use keywords in your permalinks
Incorporate relevant keywords and keyword phrases in your permalinks.
For example, instead of “my-awesome-post”, use “tips-for-seo-blogging”.
This helps search engines determine what the page is about and can give your content a rankings boost for those keywords.
Separate words with hyphens
Use hyphens (-) to separate words and phrases in your permalinks rather than underscores (_).
Hyphens make permalinks more readable and are considered more search engine friendly.
301 redirect old permalinks
When you change your permalink structure, be sure to 301 redirect your old permalinks to the new ones.
A 301 redirect passes on the authority and rankings of the old permalink to the new one.
This avoids losing any of the SEO value you have built up over time.
Optimizing your permalinks by following these tips can have a significant impact on your search rankings and traffic.
Cleaning up your permalinks removes clutter, creates keyword-rich URLs, and ensures your content remains evergreen.
For most bloggers, a permalink overhaul, combined with on-page optimization and link building, can lead to rankings boosts for important keywords and an increase in organic search traffic within a few months.
FAQs on Changing Your Blogger URL Structure
As an SEO professional and blogger, changing your permalink structure is an important step to improve search engine optimization and rankings.
However, it does come with some questions and concerns.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I receive regarding updating Blogger URL structures:
Will changing my permalinks impact my search engine rankings?
Yes, there may be a slight drop in search engine rankings, as the search engines re-crawl your site and index the new URL structures.
Do I need to update internal links when I change my permalinks?
Yes, it is best practice to update any internal links to posts and pages when you switch your permalink structure.
Internal linking passes authority and rankings between pages on your site, so ensuring all internal links point to the new URLs will help maintain that authority flow.
I would suggest using a link checker tool to find any broken internal links after changing your permalinks.
Will my old URLs redirect to the new URLs?
When you update your permalink structure in Blogger, it will automatically create 301 redirects from your old URLs to the new URLs.
A 301 redirect passes between 90-99% of the authority and rankings to the new URL.
This helps mitigate any temporary drops in rankings.
The 301 redirects will remain in place indefinitely to catch any old links or bookmarks pointing to those URLs.
Do I need to update external links as well?
It is not critical to update external links when you change your permalink structure, as the 301 redirects will forward link authority and rankings to the new URLs.
However, over time, it is best practice to reach out to webmasters linking to your site and ask them to update to your new permalink structure.
The more links that point to your new URLs directly, the more authority is passed.
Updating your Blogger permalink structure, while requiring some work upfront, will ultimately help create a better user experience, improve search engine optimization, and boost your search rankings over the long run.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Conclusion
In conclusion, cleaning up your Blogger permalinks is well worth the effort.
By removing clutter, you make your blog more user-friendly and search engine optimized.
Permalinks are the infrastructure of your blog, so keeping them tidy has significant benefits.
Though it can be tedious work, especially on an older blog, the results are rewarding.
Readers and search engines will appreciate the simplified, clean URLs.
Your blog content will rank higher and become more discoverable.
Most importantly, you'll have peace of mind knowing your blog's foundation is organized and optimized.
Take the time to cleanup your permalinks.
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