A URL slug is the part of a web address that identifies a specific page, post, product, category, or other resource. It usually appears after the domain name and any directory or category path. A URL slug commonly contains words separated by hyphens and is designed to describe the page in a concise and readable form.

For example, in the URL:

the phrase url-slug is the slug.

What Is a URL Slug?

A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the complete web address used to locate a resource on the internet. The slug is only one component of that address.

A typical URL may contain several parts:

• Protocol: https://
• Domain name: example.com
• Directory or category: /seo/
• URL slug: /url-slug/

The slug provides a unique address for the individual resource within the website. Content management systems such as WordPress often generate a slug automatically from the page title. The automatically generated version can usually be edited before publication.

URL slugs may be used for webpages, blog posts, product pages, author archives, category pages, glossary entries, and other forms of online content.

How a URL Slug Works

When a page is created, the website assigns it a unique URL. The web server or content management system uses the slug to determine which resource should appear when that address is requested.

For example, a page titled “What Is Technical SEO?” may receive the following slug:

what-is-technical-seo

The complete URL might be:

When the URL is opened, the server connects the address with the stored page and returns its content to the browser.

Search engines also use URLs when discovering, crawling, indexing, and displaying webpages. A clear slug may provide additional context about the page’s subject. However, the slug is only one small element of search optimization and does not determine rankings by itself.

Example of a URL Slug

Consider an article titled:

How to Conduct Keyword Research for SEO

A suitable URL may be:

In this example, keyword-research is the slug. It communicates the main topic without repeating every word from the full title.

A less suitable version might be:

This slug is unnecessarily long and may become outdated if the year changes.

Another unsuitable version may contain unclear characters or identifiers:

Although such a URL may function correctly, it provides little information about the page’s content.

Important Points and Best Practices

A URL slug should be short, descriptive, readable, and closely related to the page topic. It should allow users and search engines to understand the likely subject of the resource before opening it.

Important practices include:

• Use words that accurately describe the main topic.
• Include the primary keyword when it fits naturally.
• Separate words with hyphens rather than spaces or underscores.
• Use lowercase letters to maintain consistency.
• Remove unnecessary words when the meaning remains clear.
• Avoid dates unless the content is permanently associated with a specific year or period.
• Avoid random numbers, tracking codes, and unnecessary parameters in permanent URLs.
• Use only one unique slug for each indexable page.
• Keep the structure consistent across similar content types.
• Review the slug carefully before publishing.

Common words such as “a,” “an,” “the,” “and,” or “of” may be removed when they do not affect clarity. However, removing too many words can make the slug vague or difficult to understand.

Mistakes to Avoid

Changing a URL slug after publication can break existing links and create a 404 error if the old address is not redirected. When a published slug must be changed, a permanent 301 redirect should normally connect the old URL to the new one.

Repeatedly changing slugs should be avoided because it can disrupt internal links, backlinks, bookmarks, analytics records, and search engine indexing. Keyword repetition should also be avoided. A slug such as seo-keyword-seo-keyword-research appears unnatural and provides no additional value.

A well-formed URL slug supports clear website organization, improves readability, and helps identify the subject of a page. It should remain stable after publication whenever possible.