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# Turkish characters in URLs (ı, ş, ğ): do they cause problems?

By [Rues](https://ruesandora.com/about) · Published 26 October 2026 · Updated 26 October 2026

Sources checked on 25 October 2026

Short answer

Google's URL guide tells you to use words in your audience's language and, where it fits, transliterated words. Non-ASCII letters should be percent-encoded in your links, so ş becomes %C5%9F. Both approaches are accepted. What matters is picking one spelling, using it consistently in your links, and knowing that upper and lower case count as different addresses.

Should a page address read "çağrı-merkezi" or "cagri-merkezi"? The question comes up when ç, ğ and ı suddenly turn into codes like %C3%A7 in the address bar. This guide covers what Google's URL guide says, where the codes come from, and how to make one choice and stick to it. We read the guide on 25 October 2026 (last updated 21 October 2026).

## What does Google say about Turkish letters in URLs?

Google's "URL structure best practices" page has three relevant points:

- **Your audience's language.** Use words in your audience's language in the URL and, if applicable, transliterated words. The examples are German and Japanese.
- **Percent encoding.** In links to pages on your site (the href attribute), characters outside ASCII should be percent encoded. The guide's example is the word gemüse, with gem%C3%BCse as the recommended form.
- **Case.** Google treats URLs as case sensitive. /APPLE and /apple are two separate addresses. If your server treats both as the same, the guide suggests converting all text to one case.

The guide does not mention Turkish or the letters ç, ş and ğ. The Turkish examples below are ours.

## Where do codes like %C4%B1 come from?

Each Turkish letter takes two bytes in UTF-8, and each byte is written with a percent sign:

| Letter | Code |
| --- | --- |
| ı | %C4%B1 |
| İ | %C4%B0 |
| ş | %C5%9F |
| ğ | %C4%9F |
| ç | %C3%A7 |
| ö | %C3%B6 |
| ü | %C3%BC |

For example, Node.js's `encodeURIComponent` turns çağrı-merkezi-hizmetleri into %C3%A7a%C4%9Fr%C4%B1-merkezi-hizmetleri. Browsers often show the readable form, but the encoded form can appear when you paste the link somewhere. That is simply how the address is written.

## The upper and lower case trap

Google's case rule creates an extra problem for Turkish. The default lowercase function in programming languages does not know Turkish rules. We tried it in Node.js 22:

- "ISPARTA" becomes "isparta" with the default function. The Turkish form would be "ısparta". That makes two different addresses.
- "İSTANBUL" becomes a 9-character string with a combining dot above the i, which is not plain "istanbul". With the Turkish locale (`toLocaleLowerCase('tr')`) it gives "istanbul".

If a script or plugin generates your addresses, such as software that builds a URL from a title, check once which case rules it applies.

## Which option should you choose?

Google describes both routes. We found no document showing that one ranks better than the other. The practical differences:

- **A: ASCII letters only (cagri-merkezi).** No encoded addresses appear, and pasting links causes less confusion. We use this for our own article addresses: our system accepts only a-z, 0-9 and hyphens.
- **B: Turkish letters (çağrı-merkezi).** It mirrors the audience's language exactly. You must use the encoded form in every link and keep to a single spelling.

Whichever you pick:

1. Use one spelling. If both spellings are live, redirect one to the other with a 301. For redirect setup see our [bilingual site guide](https://ruesandora.com/writing/bilingual-site-hreflang-redirects).
2. Use the same spelling in internal links, the sitemap and the canonical tag.
3. Check that the software generating addresses applies Turkish case rules.
4. Plan redirects before you change an existing page's address.

We found no official document on how AI bots handle these addresses: not verified. We write no separate rule for bots.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do ı, ş and ğ in a URL cause problems on Google?

Google's guide recommends the audience's language and asks for percent encoding of non-ASCII characters in links. It says nothing that suggests a problem.

### Is it normal to see %C3%A7 in the address bar?

Yes. It is how the letter ç is written in an address.

### Should I convert my existing addresses to ASCII?

The guide does not suggest it. If you do, set up 301 redirects from old addresses to new ones and update your sitemap. We found no document on the effect on rankings.

### Why is an address with a capital letter counted separately?

According to Google's documentation, URLs are case sensitive. /APPLE and /apple are different addresses.

## Sources

All read on 25 October 2026.

- Google Search Central, URL structure best practices (last updated 21 October 2026): [developers.google.com](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/url-structure)
- Letter codes and the case test: our own test in Node.js 22.22.0.

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