Google Says URL Keywords Are a Very Small Ranking Signal

Google Search treats keywords in a URL or domain as an “incredibly small signal” for rankings, Gary Illyes said in a video discussion with Cherry Prommawin. The first installment of Google’s video series, The Non-Canonical Cabinet, focuses on how Search handles URLs.

The message matters to SEO teams deciding how to structure pages and domains: adding search terms to a web address is not a reliable way to improve rankings. Illyes said keywords in those locations “won't do much,” and also noted that Google can detect spam in URLs.

The episode revisits a familiar SEO question—whether URL wording can affect visibility—but also discusses more technical aspects of how Google processes addresses. It covers both domain names and URL paths, which are distinct parts of an address and should not be treated as interchangeable when applying the guidance.

Hyphens or underscores?

For separating words in a URL path, Illyes recommends hyphens rather than underscores. The advice is specific to the path; the discussion summary does not give a separate recommendation about using either character in a domain name.

The video also considers an exaggerated address packed with repeated keywords and asks whether it could guarantee a top ranking. Illyes’s broader point is that keyword-heavy URLs do not offer that kind of ranking advantage, while Google can recognize URL spam.

What about emojis and international domains?

Other topics include internationalized domain names, Punycode, emoji in URL paths and percent-encoding. The episode raises whether a domain made from chicken and fire emojis can exist; the summary says it cannot. It does not provide detailed rules for how each emoji or encoded character is handled.

Google’s discussion therefore offers a practical distinction for site owners: use hyphens to separate words in paths, but do not expect keywords in a path or domain to carry substantial ranking weight. The video’s topics also make clear that URL handling involves technical formats beyond the words people see in an address.

This report draws on information from Search Engine Roundtable.