What is a Slug in SEO?
A slug in SEO is quite simply the latter part of a URL of a site and how it’s formatted. An ideal slug in SEO is concise and to the point with no filler words such as “of”, “in”, “the”, or “a”. In this post we’ll be discussing the benefits of having an optimized slug, how search engines interpret slugs, and how to best write out your slugs at scale to create the right hierarchy and readability for both search engine robots and your users. Enjoy!
So, What is a Slug in SEO?
As you can see above, this is an example of a slug from this post here at DASH-SEO. You’ll notice there are no filler words and the slug itself has the keyword incorporated within.
Why are Slugs in SEO Important for the Overall SEO Process
Slugs are important for SEO as they’re the initial structure a search engine robot encounters when submitting the URL for indexing. This process is extremely important when developing your SEO performance. Without the right slug in place, you run the risk of losing out on valuable indexing placement, thus resulting in a lower position on Google’s search engine result pages.
For Search Engine Robots
As previously mentioned, slugs are very important to give search engine robots an idea of what the content is, how it’s categorized within your site’s hierarchy and which keywords are highlighted within said slug to stand out to Google. Search engine robots feed off of these small bits of information, so it’s best to give them the most accurate information possible.
For Website Users
Website users appreciate a good slug when it comes to trust factor (nobody likes a twenty word slug), shareability, and embeddability within their own content. Creating the right slug for users is just as important as creating the right slug for search engine robots, because at the end of the day, humans are consuming the content you produce; including your slugs.
WordPress Slugs
With your WordPress site, you’ll find the slugs to be some of the most formidable for your content production efforts. Other CMS platforms may have convoluted and confusing slugs which don’t help either search engine robots or website users. A WordPress slug is utilized here on DASH-SEO’s website and is the style of slug you’ll see at the top of this post in the screenshot.
How to Optimize a Slug for SEO
Below is a quick breakdown of how to best optimize your slugs for SEO.
Include Targeted Keywords in Your Slug
Always include targeted keywords within your slugs to best optimize their performance for both SEO purposes and user experience performance. You’ll also want to avoid keyword stuffing within slugs, as this may appear spam to both users and search engine robots.
Remove Filler Words from Your Slug
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, you’ll want to remove any filler words from a slug such as “if”, “the”, “or”, “that”, etc… These words do not belong in a slug, so don’t put them in there. If they do happen to automatically populate within your slug, simply remove them and consolidate the wording of your slug to focus on keywords and action-oriented phrasing.
Use Dashes to Separate Your Keywords in Your Slug
You’ll see an example of a poorly separated slug and a properly separated slug. Follow the latter example and you’ll be good to go.
Keep Your Slug Concise & Focused
As long as you keep your slug concise and focused, you’ll find search engine robots are able to much more easily comprehend your wording and users will appreciate the quick phrasing of your slug as well.
Utilize Only Lowercase Letters
Most CMS platforms will automatically default to lowercase lettering. If your CMS does not default to lowercase lettering, you’ll want to ensure you manually lowercase all lettering. Below is an example of what we’re talking about. You’ll understand why the aesthetics of this lowercase lettering is much more preferred.
Contact Us for Your Website’s SEO!
Now you’ve learned more about slugs in SEO. Feel free to contact us using the form below if you’re interested in improving your website’s performance through our excellent SEO strategies. We look forward to hearing from you soon and we’re eager to begin helping you achieve all of your SEO goals!