Menu
Ever wanted to know why some URLs look clean and simple while others are long, complicated, and confusing? That clean part at the end of a URL, known as an “URL slug,” plays an integral role in how easily people and search engines understand a page’s purpose. In SEO, it does much more than just look pretty—it enhances search engine visibility and user experience. What makes a slug so crucial to SEO, and how can I create slugs that will attract both visitors and search engines?.
A slug in a URL is what one finds after the domain name. It summarizes the content of a webpage in a few words. Such as in “www.example.com/seo-tips,” “seo-tips” is the slug. It should be descriptive, concise, and perhaps contain relevant keywords. A good slug is what gives both search engines and readers a bright idea about what they will find on the page; thus, it should be one of your website’s necessary structures.
Relevance for Search Engines
Keywords in the URL slug are very important because they help the search engine understand the content of that page. Incorporating keywords informs search engines that your page aligns with current searches, thereby maintaining your page’s prominence in search results.
User Experience
A clean, short URL slug is great for search engines, but that much better for readers. When users see a clean, readable URL, they know what to expect and are more likely to click your link. Consider “www.example.com/how-to-bake-cookies” versus “www.example.com/p1234ab.” The former is clear and inviting; the latter is vague and confusing.
Link Sharing
It means that the web page with a simple URL—clean—will be shared more. Whether you are sharing via social media, email, or in a chat, a well-structured URL looks more trustworthy, which means it will be shared more.
Keyword Optimization
On-page SEO is improved by having your target keyword in the URL slug. The alignment of the URL with the page’s title and content creates an internal coherence for a search engine and helps the page in relevance representation.
It’s much more than the use of keywords—it’s a ‘court of clarity’ and simplicity in relevance to the message being communicated.
- Short and descriptive: Avoid extra words. Ideally, aim for slugs that are simple, clear, and focused on a single topic.
- Use Keywords: The primary keyword should creep into the slug as naturally as possible. Keyword-stuffing in slugs looks spammy and is not going to do your SEO any good.
- Special Characters: Avoid and or?. These characters confuse the browser, and your URL may be unreadable. You don’t need anything but letters, numbers, and hyphens.
- Hyphens instead of Underscore: For search engines, a hyphen is a space, so the URL will be more readable. “how-to-bake-cookies” is better than “how_to_bake_cookies.”
- Use lowercase letters: Even if your URLs are case sensitive, do use lowercase. This avoids confusion and eliminates duplicate URLs.
- Remove Stop Words: Words like “a,” “the,” and “of” are used in most slugs, but in most cases, they are not necessary, making the URLs longer than necessary. Keep it clean and to the point.
Avoid these common mistakes for user-friendly, SEO-friendly slugs.
- Long or complex slugs: The longer the slug is, the harder it is to read. More importantly, however, very long slugs dilute the meaning of the slug itself.
Simplicity End. - Keyword stuffing: Loading a slug with keywords can give it a spammy look and may also hurt your SEO. Use one key word.
- Urls Changing Very Frequently: It may result in a lot of broken links that will again deplete a lot of traffic and further harm SEO. Try to set the best possible slug and stick to it from day one.
If you’re optimizing existing slugs on your site, you can do this through the following step-by-step process:
- When Optimizing Existing Slugs: If you change the slug of a URL, you would want to set up a 301 redirect to send the old one to the new one and keep it that way, so the SEO value is retained there and users aren’t taken to the broken page.
- Track performance: Immediately after doing these changes, track them by using Google Analytics and Google Search Console regarding the traffic and rankings. It will show you whether those changes actually did happen or not.
Here are some examples to illustrate what works and what doesn’t in URL slugs:
Good: “www.example.com/digital-marketing-tips” is clear, contains relevant keywords, and the user knows at once what is going to be inside the page.
Bad: “www.example.com/p = 123abc456” — non-descriptive, with no keyword description, and does not create a response to either the user or a search engine.
For example, one is short and very easy to read, and the second is vague and not even memorable.
URL slugs are a small but powerful part of your SEO strategy. By keeping them clear, concise, and relevant, you improve both search engine rankings and user experience. Take a look at your website’s URL slugs and see if they’re up to par. By following the tips in this guide, you can create optimized slugs that contribute to your overall SEO success. Ready to improve your SEO? Start refining your URLs today!