URL slug

A URL slug is the last part of a URL that identifies the page: in /guides/what-is-a-url-slug, the slug is what-is-a-url-slug.

For a small site, the slug is a quick promise. It says what the page is about before the click. It also appears in link previews and in search results as part of the URL path.

The words in a slug are a small signal for search engines and a large one for people deciding to click. That is enough reason to name them with care.

• Lowercase: /pricing, not /Pricing
• Hyphenated words: /image-optimisation, not /image_optimisation or /imageoptimisation
• Short and focused: /seo-for-saas, not /seo-for-software-as-a-service-platforms
• Made of the page’s words: use the terms people search
• Stable: do not rename often
• No dates, IDs or noise unless they carry meaning: /changelog/may-2026 is fine if the date matters
• Skip stop words unless meaning changes: /how-to-fix-404-errors, not /how-to-fix-the-404-errors

Examples on yourproduct.com:

You cannot split out a slug’s effect perfectly. Treat it as part of the page’s promise. Measure impressions and clicks for that URL and watch click-through rate.

1. 1

   Check how the URL shows in search

   Search your brand plus the page topic. Look at how the path appears. If it is long or messy, people may skip it.

2. 2

   Use Search Console’s Performance report

   Filter by Page contains the path, compare the last 28 days to the prior 28. Watch clicks and CTR. If the slug is clearer, CTR should not fall.

3. 3

   Scan internal links

   List key pages with anchor text and the linking URL. Links that show the clean slug in previews and tooltips build trust.

A fixed page looks like /guides/url-structures, with a matching title and h1 that confirm the same topic. Expect steadier clicks on matching queries like “url structure seo”.

1. 1

   Pick the final slug

   Do this once. Keep it short, lowercase and hyphenated, based on the page’s main terms.

2. 2

   Create a 301 redirect

   Map the old URL to the new one. Test it with a redirect checker so it goes direct, not via chains.

3. 3

   Update internal links

   Change navigation, footers, body links and images that link. Search your codebase for the old path.

4. 4

   Update canonicals and sitemaps

   Point rel=canonical to the new URL and refresh your XML sitemap so crawlers see it soon.

5. 5

   Monitor for 404s and soft 404s

   Watch logs or Search Console for errors. Fix any missed links or typos fast.

• Auto-generated IDs: /post/ID adds nothing. Replace with words.
• Nested noise: /blog/articles/posts/slug wastes depth. Keep folders meaningful.
• Plural or singular: match the page. /features lists many, /feature/reporting is one.
• Language and accents: use plain ASCII slugs. Avoid encoded characters.
• Versioning: add v2 only if both versions must live. Prefer one canonical URL.
• Merging articles: pick the stronger slug, redirect the weaker and update anchors.