I made this video to show you how to set up WordPress permalinks for better SEO and usability, whether you’re launching a new site or fixing a messy one.
Permalinks are the permanent URLs for your posts and pages. They’re what Google sees, what people click, and what gets shared. That means they matter — a lot.
In the video, I start by going to Settings > Permalinks inside your WordPress dashboard. This is where you choose your site’s permalink structure. By default, WordPress uses something ugly like ?p=123 — not great for SEO or human readability.
I walk you through choosing the “Post name” structure, which turns your URLs into something like /best-camera-gear/ instead of a random number. This is what I recommend for almost all content-driven websites, blogs, and niche sites.
Next, I talk about customizing permalinks for pages and posts. Even with a good global setting, you still want to tweak each slug to make it short, keyword-rich, and easy to remember. Avoid filler words like “the” or “a,” and aim for clarity.
I also explain how permalinks tie into category and tag URLs, and how to clean them up using plugins like Yoast SEO or RankMath. You can even strip out the /category/ base if you want cleaner URLs.
For older sites, I include tips on 301 redirects — super important if you’re changing existing URLs. You don’t want to break backlinks or lose rankings. I show how to use Redirection plugin to safely redirect old URLs to new ones.
Finally, I touch on URL consistency. Always pick a structure and stick with it. Flipping between formats over time creates chaos in your analytics, your SEO, and your user experience.
Permalinks might seem small, but they’re a foundational SEO setting. It’s one of the first things I adjust whenever I launch a WordPress site — and once you set it up correctly, you’ll rarely need to touch it again.
Have you reviewed your site’s permalink structure lately, or are you still using the default?