[This is a post describing some simple steps to get the most relevant ads in your WordPress blog or site, by optimizing your post- and page-slugs.]

Some time ago I showed my experience with manually tweaking a post-slug to get better targeted ads on one of my websites. With each new website I launch, I try to improve the way ads get targeted. That way my visitors are better served and plainly said: I create bigger revenue from my ads.

First let us take a look at where a visitor might find an ad in your WordPress-site:

1. at your main site, the index.php [here the targeting is mainly influenced by content and weighted content (header and title tags, bold and italic entrytext and links)]
2. at a page [here the targeting is influenced by the above mentioned, but also by the page-slug]
3. at single post [influence same as with a page, only then by the post-slug]*
4. at an overview page of your archives [almost same as a page]
5. at a result page after a search command
6. at an overview page of one of your categories*

* I will put some special attention to the third and last point in this post.

Basic rule is to apply Search-Engine-Friendly URL’s to your WordPress blog. In the WordPress Codex they are described as “mod_rewrite - Pretty Permalinks“. Read the following first.

“Pretty” Permalinks is the idea that URLs are frequently visible to the people who click them, and should therefore be crafted in such a way that they make sense, and not be filled with incomprehensible parameters. [source: codex.wordpress.org]

>> How to implement and customize your permalinks at the WP Codex

So, let us take the wp-admin/options-permalink.php page of your WP blog.

When I started ipears.com I chose for the following permalink structure for the SEF URL’s:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/
This is the option stating “Date and name based”. For this site and its visitors this is a simple, efficient and clear structure… but for a for a site that needs more precise and efficient targeting we need to do some more.

Ads on sites that provide specific information or sell some kind of product of service often receive a bit of a higher click-rate. The visitors have a certain intention and especially relevant ads draw their attention in extent of their search. For such sites - as is my latest - I suggest a different approach. [Please remember: This is only MY thought on this topic, and how I experience it... not THE way to do it]

1. What do you need? Actually there are only 2 important structure tags, namely %postname% and %category%
2. First we select the “Custom, specify below” option and fill out %postname% in the corresponding field
3. Then we tweak the optional “Category base” field smartly, by filling out %category%

What we have done now, is creating a nicely corresponding URL with each post with only the important elements: No general and therefor meaningless terms like “/archives/”, “/categories”/ or the standard “/taxonomy/tags/” in your URL, but straightforwardly just what is relevant.
When you have a blog reviewing different ways to top your slice of bread and you have written a post on “orange marmelade” in the category “fruity sweet”, your post-slug will look like this: yourdomain.com/fruity-sweet/orange-marmelade. This will weigh on the way your ads are targeted and therefor on the chance of a bigger click-rate.

To combine this way of customizing your post-slug with your page-slug you can add an extra to your site which will keep your visitors longer on your site:
Instead of creating pages with static content, create pages which show all the posts of a certain category. Yes, I know, most sites have that list of “categories”… But it is way more professional to have a nice navigation at the top of your page that guides your visitors to your different categories… with relevant ads. “yourdomain.com/fruity-sweet/” and yourdomain.com/sticky-chunky/” for instance.

Doing this is easy:

1. Look up the navigation code in your WordPress template (usually in the header)
2. Look for a part “wp_list_pages”
3. Now simply change this into “wp_list_cats“
4. Save and reload…
5. You will see that the different categories will be displayed as pages
6. Done