How Long Is Too Long For A Link?
While there’s no official maximum length for a URL, Google recommends keeping your URLs short, simple, and descriptive.
The HTTP specification doesn’t specify a maximum length for URLs, but some browsers and servers have limits. Internet Explorer, for example, imposes a total size of 2,083 characters. Other browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, allow much longer URLs, but in practical terms, it’s generally best to keep URLs under a few hundred characters long.
There are a few reasons for this…
- User Experience – Longer URLs can be difficult to copy and paste, and they’re often truncated in search results, emails, or other places they’re displayed. They can also be hard to read and understand.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Although Google can index long URLs, shorter and cleaner URLs are more easily understood by users and search engines. Including relevant keywords in a concise URL can provide a clear indication of what the page is about, potentially improving your SEO.
- Shareability – Shorter URLs are easier to share, especially on social media platforms where character counts may be limited.
Even though there’s no strict limit on URL length, it’s generally best practice to keep them as concise as possible and under 2,000 characters to ensure they’re usable across all browsers and platforms.
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