Do you know what are Stop Words in SEO? They are certain words which have no extra value in search engines and you should not include in your site’s URLs. When you write a post in WordPress, you have to look into the URL, permalink, post title, subheadings and content so as to optimize everything and increase visibility in the search results. While optimizing a blog post, you should take into account stop words seo. I will explain it in details but the matter of fact is that many newbies do not know about this. So, let’s define it now. When you write a post or page title in the block editor of your WordPress and click the save draft button, the draft URL gets saved and it takes you to the editing page. Now, the matter of fact I am going to point out is that whatever word you put in the post title ,it is added to the URL. You write sentence and include noun, pronoun, verb, article, conjunction, preposition or any meaningful word.
Without arranging the proper words in grammatical syntax, your sentence does not express what you want to mean. This is a context that relates with readability and you must maintain it to it comprehensible both to the human readers and search engines. But there are certain words like a, an, the, to, in etc which if not included in the URL, there will be no error in understanding by search engines like Google. These words are, in fact, stop words in seo and URL.
Page of Contents:
- What Are Stop Words in SEO and URL?
- Where from We Should Exclude Stop Words?
- Where to Include Stop Words?
- Are Stop Words Good for SEO?
- Are Stop Words Bad for SEO?
- List of Stop Words
What Are Stop Words in SEO and URL?
I have already pointed a little bit about what are Stop Words? However, I want to explain it in more details so as to understand and apply it in the practical field while writing a post or page. Stop Words are some common words which include article, conjunction, preposition and other words which are normally not included in the ULR and they convey no additional meaning to Search engines like Google. It does not matter to Google whether you add them or not. Excluding Stop Words from URL in certain condition is a good SEO practice, as it minimizes the length of your post URL. The examples of such kind of words are a, an, the, to, in, out, with, without etc.
About 25% words of all contents in the Internet are Stop Words. If you add them to your post URL, it will increase its length. But the normal length of it should be under 76 characters. If you do that, it will be a good practice for Google.
Where from We Should Exclude Stop Words?
Where from we should exclude stop words? We have to add words in the content, in the heading, in the subheadings, in the URL, in the meta description and so many places while writing and optimizing a post but where from we need to exclude such kind of words.
You should exclude the stop words from your post or page URL to minimize its characters as recommended by Google. Write a blog title as you like to make it relevant, meaningful and aye-catching but be careful about the length of URL and remove unnecessary words. The Yoast Plugin has built-in option to remove stop words from your URLs.
Suppose you have written a post title which has a URL like best-book-seller-in-newyork. You can write this excluding’in’ in this way:
best-book-seller-newyork
Look at both the URL where the former includes ‘in’ and the latter excludes it. Insofar as search engine is concerned, the latter version of the URL is preferable to the former. To human readers the former is preferable to the latter. But Google Search Algorithm is efficient to comprehend it. So excluding stop words has SEO value in Google.
Look below how stop words are excluded from URLs.
Try to limit URL length within 70 to 76 characters.
Also, you can exclude it from page title( meta-title) which appears in search results. Many content writers and web experts support this, but it is an issue of debate in the SEO industries. I do not recommend to exclude it from page(meta-title) because search engine displays this to visitors through their search results. Adding it makes the result more meaningful and increases its understandability to the human readers.
Where to Include Stop Words?
You have to include stop words in your contents, meta description or excerpt and subheadings. You know content is the king and it is the most important thing of your blog that should take care of. You write various sections and blocks to add content. You write for human readers, not for search engine. First think that you compose article, provide tutorials and publish blog posts for real visitors. Search engine comes later. Without adding proper empty words, your content will not be comprehensible. Furthermore, Google’s guide lines of Stop Words specially applicable for URL and meta data, not for content and blog title.
Are Stop Words Good for SEO?
Of course, removing stop words is good for SEO in certain place like URL. Because while crawling and indexing your site, Google tries to minimize its database. In another term, search engine especially Google uses less data in their database to crawl and index your whole website including posts, pages and categories provided that you remove unwanted empty words from URLs. It saves time and storage space and allows for faster indexing.
So, don’t add stop words in URL because search engines ignore them and they have no extra value. Try to limit the length of characters within 76. Some experts prefer to keep it within 50-60 characters for better performance in the search engine result pages(SERPs).
Are Stop Words Bad for SEO?
As pointed out earlier, you have understood that it has certain place of applicability. Using them at certain places like content, subheadings and headings is good for your content, as it increases readability and value both to the human readers and search engines. I have already pointed out that about 25% words of all content in the web are such kind of words. To use them is a necessity in content, meta description(excerpt) and title. But if you use them in URLs, you will have no extra value. Furthermore, Google has updated their Natural Language Processing which can scan and read what your site has submitted to their database. Removing stop words from URL saves time, leaves extra space in their database and allows for faster crawling and indexing by Google.
The Recent List of Stop Words(Aug,2021)
These are the updated and recent list of stop words which you can take care of while write content in your site.
a
a’s
able
about
above
according
accordingly
across
actually
after
afterwards
again
against
ain’t
all
allow
allows
almost
alone
along
already
also
although
always
am
among
amongst
an
and
another
any
anybody
anyhow
anyone
anything
anyway
anyways
anywhere
apart
appear
appreciate
appropriate
are
aren’t
around
as
aside
ask
asking
associated
at
available
away
awfully
b
be
became
because
become
becomes
becoming
been
before
beforehand
behind
being
believe
below
beside
besides
best
better
between
beyond
both
brief
but
by
c
c’mon
c’s
came
can
can’t
cannot
cant
cause
causes
certain
certainly
changes
clearly
co
com
come
comes
concerning
consequently
consider
considering
contain
containing
contains
corresponding
could
couldn’t
course
currently
d
definitely
described
despite
did
didn’t
different
do
does
doesn’t
doing
don’t
done
down
downwards
during
e
each
edu
eg
eight
either
else
elsewhere
enough
entirely
especially
et
etc
even
ever
every
everybody
everyone
everything
everywhere
ex
exactly
example
except
f
far
few
fifth
first
five
followed
following
follows
for
former
formerly
forth
four
from
further
furthermore
g
get
gets
getting
given
gives
go
goes
going
gone
got
gotten
greetings
h
had
hadn’t
happens
hardly
has
hasn’t
have
haven’t
having
he
he’s
hello
help
hence
her
here
here’s
hereafter
hereby
herein
hereupon
hers
herself
hi
him
himself
his
hither
hopefully
how
howbeit
however
i
i’d
i’ll
i’m
i’ve
ie
if
ignored
immediate
in
inasmuch
inc
indeed
indicate
indicated
indicates
inner
insofar
instead
into
inward
is
isn’t
it
it’d
it’ll
it’s
its
itself
j
just
k
keep
keeps
kept
know
knows
known
l
last
lately
later
latter
latterly
least
less
lest
let
let’s
like
liked
likely
little
look
looking
looks
ltd
m
mainly
many
may
maybe
me
mean
meanwhile
merely
might
more
moreover
most
mostly
much
must
my
myself
n
name
namely
nd
near
nearly
necessary
need
needs
neither
never
nevertheless
new
next
nine
no
nobody
non
none
noone
nor
normally
not
nothing
novel
now
nowhere
o
obviously
of
off
often
oh
ok
okay
old
on
once
one
ones
only
onto
or
other
others
otherwise
ought
our
ours
ourselves
out
outside
over
overall
own
p
particular
particularly
per
perhaps
placed
please
plus
possible
presumably
probably
provides
q
que
quite
qv
r
rather
rd
re
really
reasonably
regarding
regardless
regards
relatively
respectively
right
s
said
same
saw
say
saying
says
second
secondly
see
seeing
seem
seemed
seeming
seems
seen
self
selves
sensible
sent
serious
seriously
seven
several
shall
she
should
shouldn’t
since
six
so
some
somebody
somehow
someone
something
sometime
sometimes
somewhat
somewhere
soon
sorry
specified
specify
specifying
still
sub
such
sup
sure
t
t’s
take
taken
tell
tends
th
than
thank
thanks
thanx
that
that’s
thats
the
their
theirs
them
themselves
then
thence
there
there’s
thereafter
thereby
therefore
therein
theres
thereupon
these
they
they’d
they’ll
they’re
they’ve
think
third
this
thorough
thoroughly
those
though
three
through
throughout
thru
thus
to
together
too
took
toward
towards
tried
tries
truly
try
trying
twice
two
u
un
under
unfortunately
unless
unlikely
until
unto
up
upon
us
use
used
useful
uses
using
usually
uucp
v
value
various
very
via
viz
vs
w
want
wants
was
wasn’t
way
we
we’d
we’ll
we’re
we’ve
welcome
well
went
were
weren’t
what
what’s
whatever
when
whence
whenever
where
where’s
whereafter
whereas
whereby
wherein
whereupon
wherever
whether
which
while
whither
who
who’s
whoever
whole
whom
whose
why
will
willing
wish
with
within
without
won’t
wonder
would
would
wouldn’t
x
y
yes
yet
you
you’d
you’ll
you’re
you’ve
your
yours
yourself
yourselves
z
zero
