URL over 115 characters
What it is
The page’s full URL, from https:// to the end of any query string, is longer than 115 characters. Long addresses usually come from deep folder nesting, a whole headline used as the slug, dates in the path or query parameters.
Why it matters
A short, readable address is easier to trust, remember and share. Long URLs get cut off or wrapped in emails, chat messages and documents, which can break the link people paste, and a slug that repeats a full headline says less than a few chosen words. Google recommends simple URLs built from words that are useful to readers. Google does not document length as a ranking factor, so treat this as cleanup rather than an emergency.
How Asky checks it
Asky counts the characters of the page’s full URL as your sitemap lists it, including https://, the domain and any query string. A URL longer than 115 characters is reported. The number 115 is Asky’s threshold for a readable address, not a limit set by search engines or browsers. An accented letter counts once when listed as is, and as its full %XX sequence when listed encoded. The check runs in every audit, including audits of selected pages, on every page whose HTML Asky fetched; a page answering 4xx or 5xx is reported for its status alone. A URL that redirects to another audited page reports only the redirect.
Reported as an opportunity with low severity.
How to fix it
- Shorten the slug to the few words that name the topic, such as
/blog/saas-pricing-guideinstead of the whole headline. - Remove folder levels and dates that add nothing, and drop parameters the page does not need. A URL with parameters is also reported on its own.
- Weigh changes to established pages: a new address needs time to be re-crawled, so a long URL on a page that performs well is usually not worth changing.
- If you change it, add a 301 redirect from the old URL and list the new one in your sitemap and canonical tag. An old URL left in the sitemap is reported as a redirect.
- Update your internal links to the new URL. Links left on the old address are reported as links to internal redirects.
- To leave it as it is: if the address is established and still readable, mark the issue resolved.
Example
https://example.com/blog/2024/03/the-complete-and-up-to-date-guide-to-pricing-your-saas-product-in-a-competitive-market-for-small-teams has 135 characters. https://example.com/blog/saas-pricing-guide has 43.