URL Decoder and Free SEO Tools for Non-English URLs

Quick answer: This free URL decoder converts percent-encoded links such as %D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85 back into readable text (here, the Arabic word سلام) and can encode text the other way too. Paste one or many links into the box, choose Decode or Encode, then copy the clean result. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing is sent to a server.

Why non-English links turn into %XX codes

A URL may only contain a small set of ASCII characters: Latin letters, digits and a few symbols. When a page address contains an Arabic, Persian, Russian, Turkish or Chinese word, two steps happen:

1. UTF-8 encoding. Each character is converted into one or more bytes. A Latin letter takes one byte, an Arabic, Persian or Cyrillic letter usually takes two, and a Chinese character usually takes three.
2. Percent-encoding. Every byte that is not an allowed ASCII character is written as a % sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. RFC 3986 defines this format and recommends uppercase hex digits.

Take the Russian word привет ("hello"). Its six letters become twelve bytes, so the URL shows %D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82. The Turkish word şehir ("city") only encodes its first letter: %C5%9Fehir. The Chinese 你好 becomes %E4%BD%A0%E5%A5%BD.

Browsers usually show the readable version in the address bar, but copy the link into WhatsApp, an email or a spreadsheet and the long encoded form often appears instead.

Domain names are a different story (IDN)

Only the path and query of a URL (everything after the domain) use percent-encoding. Internationalized domain names (IDNs) such as пример.рф use a separate system called Punycode, which turns each label into an ASCII form starting with xn--. That domain becomes xn--e1afmkfd.xn--p1ai.

Notice the length: a four-letter Arabic word becomes 24 characters once encoded, and a two-character Chinese word becomes 18.

How to use the URL decoder

1. Paste your encoded link, or a whole list of links with one per line, into the input box.
2. Click Decode to get readable text, or Encode to turn readable text into a URL-safe form.
3. Copy the result with one click and use it wherever you need it.

The tool also catches double-encoded links. This happens when an already encoded link gets encoded a second time, so %D8%B3 becomes %25D8%25B3 (%25 is the code for the % sign itself). Double encoding often comes from plugins, redirects or tracking tools, and it can lead to broken pages or duplicate URLs. The decoder repeats the process until the text is readable.

If a link contains a broken sequence, such as a % followed by only one hex digit, the tool flags that line so you know which link to check.

Bulk use cases

• Sharing links: decode a link before posting it on WhatsApp, Telegram or social media so people can see the page topic at a glance.
• Client reports: turn long lists of encoded URLs into readable page names before you send an SEO or analytics report.
• Google Search Console: exported Pages and Performance reports often list non-Latin URLs in encoded form. Decode the whole column to see which pages are which.
• Excel and Google Sheets: paste a column of URLs, decode them in one go and paste them back next to the originals.

Native-script URLs vs transliterated URLs for SEO

Should a Russian page use /доставка/ or /dostavka/? Should an Arabic page use Arabic letters or Latin ones? Google's own guidance is fairly relaxed here. Its URL structure documentation recommends using words in your audience's language in the URL, and transliterated words where applicable. It also asks that non-ASCII characters in links on your site be percent-encoded, showing examples such as gem%C3%BCse instead of gemüse.

In other words, both approaches are acceptable, and the right choice depends on your site and your audience:

• Native script matches what local users read and type, and the words look natural in the browser address bar. The downside is the long, unreadable encoded form when links are copied, shared or exported.
• Transliterated (Latin) slugs stay short and readable everywhere, from SMS to spreadsheets. The downside is that transliteration can be inconsistent (one word, several spellings), and some users may find it less natural.

Whatever you choose, keep it consistent across the site. Mixing styles makes URLs harder to manage and can create duplicate pages for the same content.

Slug best practices for non-Latin languages

• Use hyphens between words. Google recommends hyphens (-) rather than underscores (_) to separate words.
• Keep it short. Every Arabic, Persian or Cyrillic letter becomes six characters once encoded, and every Chinese character becomes nine. Three to five meaningful words is usually plenty.
• Arabic and Persian: remove diacritics (tashkeel), the tatweel stretching character (ـ) and invisible characters like the zero-width non-joiner common in Persian. They add encoded bytes without adding meaning, and can make two visually identical slugs different.
• Persian vs Arabic letters: ی and ي, or ک and ك, look almost the same but encode differently. Pick one form and stick to it.
• Turkish: letters like ş, ğ and ı each encode to two bytes. Many Turkish sites transliterate them (ş to s, ğ to g, ı to i) for shorter URLs.
• Russian: choose one transliteration scheme (for example for щ, ж or ё) and apply it everywhere.
• Chinese: pinyin slugs without tone marks (ni-hao) are a common, short alternative to encoded characters.

Slug generator

The slug generator turns a page or article title into a clean, SEO-friendly slug. It lowercases Latin letters, removes punctuation and extra spaces, and joins words with hyphens. You can keep the slug in its native script (Arabic, Persian, Russian and so on) or transliterate it to Latin letters. The tool also shows the encoded length, so you can compare a native slug and a Latin one side by side.

Google SERP preview and length checker

Google does not cut titles at a fixed number of characters. It truncates based on display width, which is approximately 600 pixels for the title on desktop. The SERP preview tool measures your title and meta description in pixels, shows how the result might look in Google, and warns you when text is likely to be truncated. Treat it as a guide: Google may also rewrite titles and descriptions on its own.

UTM link builder

UTM parameters tell Google Analytics where a visit came from. The three you should always use are:

• utm_source: the referrer, such as google, newsletter or facebook.
• utm_medium: the marketing channel, such as cpc, email or social.
• utm_campaign: the campaign, product or promotion, such as spring_sale.

Optional utm_term and utm_content fields cover paid keywords and different ad creatives. The builder adds the parameters to your link and encodes any non-Latin text correctly, so campaign names in Arabic or Russian do not break the URL.

WhatsApp link generator

WhatsApp's "click to chat" feature opens a chat with a number through a link in the form https://wa.me/<number>. The number must be in full international format without a plus sign, leading zeros, brackets or dashes. You can also add a pre-filled message with ?text=, but that text has to be URL-encoded. The generator handles both: enter a number and a message in any language and get a ready-to-use link.

Frequently asked questions

Need more than free tools? The team at International Technology Center (ITC) builds multilingual websites and runs SEO for businesses targeting Arabic, Turkish and international audiences. You can see examples in our portfolio.