---
title: "Google: keywords in URLs are a very small ranking signal"
url: https://seomadman.com/news/google-url-structure-hyphens-underscores-emoji
section: news
language: en
published: 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z
author: Adam Hafez
topics: ["Technical SEO", "Indexing"]
---

# Google: keywords in URLs are a very small ranking signal

## The short answer

Google says keywords in a URL are an "incredibly small signal" for ranking, per Search Engine Roundtable's report of a new Google Search Central video. Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin also said to separate words in the path with hyphens, not underscores, and that Google can detect spam in URLs. The video also covers emoji and Punycode.

## Key takeaways

- Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin said keywords in a URL or domain are an incredibly small ranking signal that will not do much.
- They said to use hyphens, not underscores, to separate keywords in the URL path.
- They said Google can detect spamming in URLs, so stuffing keywords into a path is not a tactic to rely on.
- The video also covers what can go in a domain name, internationalized domains and Punycode, emoji in URL paths and percent-encoding.
- Search Engine Roundtable notes much of this was said before, and that the video goes into more technical detail.

Google Search Central published a video on 14 October 2026 titled
[What can you actually put in a URL?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfvw43BbHy0). Search Engine
Roundtable's Barry Schwartz
[covered it](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-urls-42305.html) as the first video in
Google's "The Non-Canonical Cabinet" series, with Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin. We did not watch
the video, so everything below comes from Schwartz's account.

## Do URL keywords help ranking?

Illyes and Prommawin called keywords in a URL or a domain name an "incredibly small signal" that
will not do much for ranking, per the report. Schwartz notes Google has said
this before and that this video is more technical.

## Which URL separator is best?

The speakers said to separate keywords in the URL path with hyphens and not with the _ character,
per the report. Whether a given site changes anything is its own call: nothing in the report says
existing URLs containing _ are penalized, so there is no stated reason to migrate them.

## Can Google detect spam in URLs?

Yes, per the report: the speakers said Google can detect spamming in URLs. Stuffing a path with
repeated keywords is therefore not something to count on. The video's main value is the technical
detail on what is allowed.

## What else does the video cover?

According to Schwartz, it covers what can go in a domain name, internationalized domain names and
Punycode, emoji in URL paths, and percent-encoding. Watch the video for the exact rules on each; we
did not check them.

## What should site owners do?

Readable hyphenated paths that stay stable are enough, and duplicate versions are best resolved
with a canonical, which the [canonical tag checker](/tools/canonical-tag-checker) can verify.
Our [technical SEO](/topics/technical-seo) and [indexing](/topics/indexing) hubs cover crawling
and URL handling more broadly.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are keywords in a URL a ranking factor?

Barely. Per Search Engine Roundtable's report of the Google video, Gary Illyes and Cherry Prommawin called keywords in a URL or domain an incredibly small signal that will not do much.

### Should I use hyphens or underscores in URLs?

Hyphens. The Google speakers said to separate keywords in the URL path with hyphens, not underscores, according to Search Engine Roundtable.

### Can Google detect keyword spam in URLs?

Yes, according to the video as reported. The speakers said Google can detect spamming in URLs.

### Are emoji allowed in URLs?

The video covers emoji in URL paths alongside Punycode and percent-encoding. We did not watch it, so check the video for the exact guidance.

## Sources

1. [What can you actually put in a URL?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfvw43BbHy0) - Google Search Central (YouTube) (primary)
2. [Google Search On URLs: Ranking Factor, Hyphens vs Underscores & Emojis](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-urls-42305.html) - Search Engine Roundtable