Topic Cluster - URL BEST PRACTICES???

[dkelly]

Hey SEO Experts,

I'm trying to be mature and employ the Topic Cluster strategy to my content. In doing so I realized there are a few URL options. Some more difficult to execute than others. 

• Is it important to call out the Pillar Topic in your subtopic URL? 
• Does the Pillar Topic need to have its own landing page? (As opposed to just being part of the blog.)

Here's an Example: 

My Pillar is: Inbound vs. Outbound

My subtopic is: Marketing Platforms

Here are the URL options I can think of...

Option 1: https://pipelineinbound.com/blog/inbound-vs-outbound-marketing-platforms/

Option 2: https://pipelineinbound.com/blog/which-marketing-platforms/

Option 3: https://pipelineinbound.com/blog/marketing-platforms-inbound-vs-outbound/

Option 4 (Hardest): https://pipelineinbound.com/inbound-vs-outbound/marketing-platforms/

[Josh]

@dkelly

I'm not entirely sure that there's enough data out there to really support a perfect answer, but if I were to cast a vote, the SEO in me would say Option 4 - even though it's the hardest. 

Will the extra work pay off...TBD.

Best of luck and keep me in the loop as to the direction you go and what impact you feel it drove!

[dkelly]

@Josh

Thanks man. I really appreciate the swift reply. 

Obviously that's not the answer I want to hear. But I'll take my medicine if I need to. 

Am I wrong in noticing that HubSpot does not enforce the use of 'Option 4' for HS hosted websites? 

[Josh]

You are correct. There are no enforcements of any URL structure. Though that is fairly common with database driven websites.