SEO Term Definition

URL Slug

A URL slug is the part of a URL that identifies a specific page in a human-readable format — typically a short, descriptive, hyphenated phrase after the domain and subdirectory.

Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-09-22

What is a URL Slug?

A URL slug is the final segment of a URL that identifies a specific page:

https://example.com/blog/seo-glossary-terms
                                ↑
                            This is the slug

SEO Importance

Slugs appear in the SERP URL, influencing user trust and CTR
Keywords in the slug provide a minor ranking signal
Clean, readable URLs help users understand page content before clicking
Slugs persist — changing them later requires 301 redirects

URL Slug Best Practices

Use hyphens to separate words (not underscores — Google treats underscores as joining words)
Keep it short and descriptive — 3–5 words max
Include the primary keyword
Use lowercase letters only
Remove stop words (the, a, of, and) unless they improve readability
Avoid dates unless the content is genuinely time-specific

Good vs Bad Examples

Bad	Good
/page?id=12345	/seo-glossary
/blog/2024/03/15/seo_tips_for_2024	/seo-tips
/the-complete-guide-to-search-engine-optimization	/seo-guide

Editorial decision

Choose a short durable readable path; do not rename established URLs merely to insert a keyword.

Validation

Check encoding, case, separators, canonical, redirects and internal links on representative live pages and record the result.

Primary references

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