Slug SEO: Everything You Need to Know for Better Rankings
Seeing the phrase “SEO slugs” might make you pause and scratch your head. On the surface, these are not words that come up in SEO conversations every day.
But they are exactly those small details that help search engines “get” your page better.
As slow and assuming as the name sounds, it holds the power to undo all your hard SEO work when you mess it up. But what is this slug exactly — since it's clearly not the slimy mascot of SEO?
If that’s the question that is bothering you, we are here to help.
Contents
- What is an SEO slug?
- How does URL slug impact SEO?
- SEO slug best practices
- How to change SEO slug in WordPress & Webflow
- Conclusion
What is an SEO slug?
An SEO slug is basically the part of the URL designed to help search engines and users better understand your page.
The slug usually comes after the domain name and is a string of several words (often the main keywords of the page) separated by hyphens. It is the unique identifier for each webpage on your site — kind of like having an individual calling card for your pages.
Basically, a slug is one of the parts of a URL or permalink in SEO.
Bad vs. good URL slug examples
For example, say you see a URL that looks like this and click on it:
https://wickedchef.com/recipes/how-to-make-sourdough-bread/
Chances are that you expect to see a detailed guide on how to create your own sourdough bread. If that’s what you get, then it is a good SEO URL.
Still, in real life, not every slug clues you in on what the page is about.
Maybe you have clicked on a few yourself that led you to something entirely different or didn’t provide any useful information about the page. If that’s the case, it was your introduction to a bad slug.
Now, let’s compare some bad vs. good URL slug examples:
- The good: sewingtips.com/blog/how-to-make-a-dress/
- The bad: liz.com/how-to-become-#famous-&actor-in-5-days-*and-^make-everyone%-jealous-part-13/
- The ugly: blog.com/random-123-post34acb/p=876$#%&^
Bottom line: The next time someone asks, “What is a slug in SEO?” you can tell them that a slug is what appears at the end of the URL. They should be short and descriptive, giving both readers and search engines good context about the page.
How does URL slug impact SEO?
Okay, so you have looked at more than one URL slug example, and you have gotten the gist. Now, it’s time to figure out how they affect your SEO rankings. The simple answer is that there are two major ways your SEO rankings can be impacted:
UX improvements
When a website slug is made up of confusing random letters and numbers, it sends a negative message about the quality of your site.
Besides the negative impression it creates, it also affects user experience since your visitors now have to gamble with every link they click — unsure of what to expect on the other end.
On the other hand, a good slug can contribute to a good user experience by signaling to the readers (through the keywords) that the page contains the information they are looking for. Guess what? It also helps people remember the page.
Relevancy improvements
The other important aspect of slug SEO is that search engines depend on it to understand what the content of each page on your website is about.
This then ensures that your site gets ranked for the right keywords. This is no secret, as John Muller already confirmed in a YouTube interview.
Of course, crawlers assess many things, like the actual content, backlinks, etc., to understand and rank your content properly. But the URL, including the slug, is still an essential element search engines “scan.”
If you get it right, not only do you get more visibility, but your page appears in front of people who are interested in whatever information you have to offer.
SEO slug best practices
Now that you can expertly answer the question, “What is a slug SEO?” the next best step is to ensure that when you create yours, it ticks all the right boxes. This is what the best practices are all about.
The best place to start is by checking out Google's guide on the URL structure. Here are the most important things you should keep in mind.
Make it descriptive and understandable
Okay, I know we have said this, but we really can’t say it enough — use words that actually describe what the page is about. This helps enhance understanding for the reader and the search engines, which is what you should be aiming for. To do this:
- Don’t use weird symbols and numbers. Something like the example below is just wrong and confusing (even if arthouse is your thing):
/23@&*%^#UIIJHDF@#$%^&*U(*&^&%$#!@#$%/
- Keep it simple, short, and memorable. For example:
/cheapest-flight-deals
- Add relevant keywords. If your content is about SEO tips for all levels of businesses, then you might have a URL like this:
/seo-tips-for-businesses
Add keywords
Keywords again? Yes, but this time with a little more nuance. You see, keywords are pretty important, but when overused, they can do more harm than good.
You might have 11 keywords and may be tempted to use them all in your URL. Well, no matter how tempted you are, don’t do it. Just don’t. This is known as keyword stuffing — a practice heavily frowned upon.
Instead, when using keywords in your slugs, you want to:
- Use one main keyword, so there is no need to include all of them. For example, the URL below isn’t good:
/full-menu-authentic-italian-dishes-pasta-pizza-wine-desserts-cheap-budget-friendly/
- No matter what keyword you decide to use in your slug, you still have to make sure the URL is readable. For example:
/authentic-italian-dishes
- When possible, add localized words in the URL, as this can help improve your rankings for targeted local keywords. For example, if you’re targeting the German market, instead of going for /food/peppermint, you can use the following:
Source: Google URL Structure Guidelines
Apply lowercase letters
Did you know that search engines are case-sensitive? Okay, you probably already knew that.
But here's where it gets interesting: changing the same URL from lowercase to uppercase can lead the search engine to flag your site for duplicate content.
Why, you ask?
Because it considers both the lowercase version and the uppercase one as two separate URLs, making it look like you copied and pasted the exact same content twice.
So, when you insert your link anywhere, whether it’s your social media or guest posting sites, it’s a good idea to keep this in mind.
Overall, it's always best to use lowercase letters and avoid issues like this. Plus, if someone is typing your address manually, it is just easier to do it all in lowercase letters.
To sum up, don’t do this:
/BENEFITS-OF-WATER/ or /Benefits-Of-Water/
Instead, do this:
/benefits-of-water/
Easy, right?
Use hyphens instead of other symbols
Have you ever seen a URL that looks like this?
coolsite.com/biggesttouristsattractionsinusa
Yeah, us neither. Everyone knows that joining the words in a URL together just makes them hard to understand. So, what should you do instead?
Notice how, in all the examples highlighted so far, we used hyphens to separate the words and make them readable? This is standard practice, and you should do the same.
Google also backs this up in its guide, requiring webmasters and bloggers to use hyphens instead of symbols like underscores.
Source: Google URL Structure Guidelines
This obviously makes it easier to read the words in the URL slug.
Note: You can still use common symbols like a comma (,), an equal sign (=), and an ampersand (&) to list several values for the same key, separate key-value pairs, and add more URL parameters, respectively.
Source: Google URL Structure Guidelines
Aim to avoid unnecessary words
Slugs are an important part of your on-page SEO efforts.
So, when it comes to the slug in SEO, you have to ensure you aren’t overly eager to sound natural by adding every part of speech just so your URL looks grammatically correct. Yes, you read that right.
Adding every article, adverb, and preposition only takes up space, making your URL look long and cluttered. So cut out the “a,” “the,” “and” etc. Don't worry! You won’t be sacrificing the meaning.
So, don't do this:
/the-best-place-to-get-pizzas-that-are-yummy-in-florida/
Do this instead:
/best-pizza-places-florida/
You will actually find that this is a common thing when you check the permalinks of high-ranking sites in Google SERPs.
Source: Google
Here is another reason why you shouldn’t obsess too much about particular keywords. Google uses semantic search, so even if your slug doesn’t contain the exact keyword the person searches for, your page will still show up (if your SEO is in place).
In this example, we googled “cheap Italian dishes.” But the actual slug the page above had was this one:
Source: Google
Don’t mention dates (if possible)
Say you've written the best blog anyone has ever seen on 2024 relevant SEO tricks. You might be tempted to put the date in the URL, but this is not always the best move.
What happens is that when you do this, you make that article only relevant for the mentioned year. So, instead, skip the dates and shine more light on the focus keywords.
This way, your content won't come across as outdated, and you can keep ranking longer for your target keywords to score more traffic.
So, do this:
/top-seo-tricks
Not this:
/top-seo-tricks-for-2024
Maintain consistency in the URL style across your website
It's very important that you don't switch up URL style from page to page. Doing so can create chaos. You want to be consistent and maintain the same style across all your pages.
This makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and make sense of how each page is related.
How to change SEO slug in WordPress & Webflow
We have come a long way from the question, “What is a slug in SEO?” But there is one more thing you need to know.
You want to make sure you understand how to properly set up and change the URL in your CMS.
WordPress
Let’s take WordPress, for example, since it’s one of the most popular ones out there.
You can easily change your slug SEO in WordPress when you go to the Settings bar on the page or post you want to tweak. From there, go to the Link field, click on it to open a pop-up, and change the slug.
Source: WordPress
Webflow
Webflow is the CMS that’s getting more and more attention lately, but how do you create your slug there? It is literally as easy as it can get.
Every time when you create a new post, you will see the Slug field at the top of the page. Just fill it in according to the best practices we’ve seen today, and that’s it.
Source: Webflow
If you want to change your slug, navigate to the post you wish to tweak, and the Slug field will still be there at the top.
Conclusion
So, a quick quiz — “What is a slug on a website?” If you were able to explain that without pausing for longer than five seconds, then great job! Our work here is done.
If you only take three things away from this blog, let it be that you need to keep your slugs short, add one keyword, and avoid using symbols other than the hyphen (-).
Of course, there are more nuances than that, so you may find that you have to return to this guide a few more times as you set up your URLs. That’s okay! Your SEO rankings will thank you for it.
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