A URL slug is the part of a web address that comes after the domain name and uniquely identifies a specific page on a website. It’s usually made up of simple, readable words separated by hyphens.
Good URL slugs are usually in an easy-to-read format which helps the readers and search engines better understand the content on the page. However, slugs can also contain numbers, dates and days, the author’s name, and more based on the structure of the website’s permalink.
Example: https://pngbeaver.com/what-is-a-url-slug/
Now that you know it is essential to optimize URL slugs to make them user-friendly, let us dive into the four best practices you should follow while customizing your slugs.
1. Keep them short yet informative: A good URL slug shouldn’t be too long. Long URLs are harder to read and remember. Try to use fewer than five words in your slug.
2. Use hyphens, not underscores, to separate words: It is always good to separate words in the slug to make it easily understandable. Google recommends using hyphens to separate words in your slug instead of using underscores. It identifies hyphens as word separators, thereby helping it understand what the page is about.
3. Avoid using dates in slugs: It’s best to avoid numbers in URLs that are likely to be changed in the future, like a number of tips or ideas or the publishing year.
4. Make them lowercase: Since URLs have traditionally been in lowercase, it’s recommended to use the same to make it simpler.
What Is the Difference Between a URL Slug and a URL?
The URL is the entire web address of a page, while the URL slug is just the last part of the URL that serves as an identifier of the page.
URL: https://pngbeaver.com/what-is-a-url-slug
URLslug: /what-is-a-url-slug
Final Thoughts
Optimizing your URL slugs is one of the simplest yet most effective SEO practices. A clean and descriptive slug not only boosts your search visibility but also improves user trust. Whether you’re writing a blog post or creating a product page, make sure your slugs are meaningful, consistent, and aligned with your keywords.