A permalink is the URL of of each page on your WordPress site. For example, the Permalink for this site is:
http://www.wpuniversity.com/permawhatnow-wordpress-permalinks-what-are-they-and-why-do-they-matter
The default format for permalinks on WordPress look like this:
http://www.wpuniversity.com/?p=14 (14 would be replaced by the post ID)
It is important to manually change permalinks for your posts. This is because a targeted permalink helps with your site’s SEO, and increases searchability. You can do this by editing the permalink shown under the title of your post while you are in edit mode:
WordPress offers some other default permalink settings. This means that each time you begin a new post, the permalink will be created based on your preferences. This must be manually changed. To do this, start with hovering over your settings on the Dashboard, and click ‘Permalinks’:
This will bring you to a list all of your options:
Choose the option that you prefer by clicking on the circle to the left of the text. The circle will turn blue when it is selected. Keep in mind, when your permalink contains your Focus Keyword, this will increase SEO. We suggest “Post Name” unless you’ve specifically been told or have a reason to choose otherwise.
Permalinks help your pages come up higher in search results, which can result in more visitors, so start optimizing your links NOW!
