You dont have to have the keyword in the URL... it helps for sure. And if you do have it in the URL make sure you are paying attention to how it is displayed... using to many-hephens-to-break-up-things can look spammy. Google does display the URLs with keyword-rich content for websites that don't use breadcrumb navigation or the structured data associated with it (screenshot attached).
Make sure you have the keywords in image alt text and follow other best practices if you are leaving it out of the URL :). If you want to give me more deets on this (PM me) and I can give more specific help!
I noticed that your question has already been answered, but I wanted to add my two cents. As far as I know, it is possible to use subtopics or keywords linked to the main topic in SEO without them having a URL attached. However, it's always best to have a URL attached to each subtopic, as it can help with indexing and ranking.In case you're interested, I came across a helpful resource that talks about SEO subtopics in more detail. It's an article on najadeseo.com that I found useful when I was learning about SEO. You can check it out at https://najadeseo.com/seo-%e0%b8%aa%e0%b8%b2%e0%b8%a2%e0%b9%80%e0%b8%97%e0%b8%b2/
You dont have to have the keyword in the URL... it helps for sure. And if you do have it in the URL make sure you are paying attention to how it is displayed... using to many-hephens-to-break-up-things can look spammy. Google does display the URLs with keyword-rich content for websites that don't use breadcrumb navigation or the structured data associated with it (screenshot attached).
Make sure you have the keywords in image alt text and follow other best practices if you are leaving it out of the URL :). If you want to give me more deets on this (PM me) and I can give more specific help!