I’ve seen a lot of SEO Experts and many SEO tools recommend that you should be using hyphens in URLs rather than underscores. The truth is that they are flat out wrong. Hyphens present problems that underscores don't have. Check out my example, then let me know your thoughts.
4 Comments
4 Comments
Comments
I'm not sure I understand the argument. Are you saying that underscores are better for people or for search engines?
Hyphens aren't that bad, and not "wrong". Just consider that a link drop with underscores is easier to read coz underscores replace spaces more natural than hyphens in this use case. SEO-wise, well, do what you believe working best.
I have heard the opposite, but you are right. A hyphen is part of our language. The underscore, well, it is used to separate words.
I've always gone for hyphens but don't believe there is any advantage in them over underscores. As you say WordPresss them by default and with their release schedule you soon learn it's not clever to mess with core functions. This is one of the best arguments though I've heard for quite a while on the topic. Hyphens convey their own meaning, underscores are separators.