What is a URL slug?
A URL slug is the part of a URL that identifies a specific page in a human-readable format. For example, in the URL https://privatool.com/blog/url-slug-guide, the slug is url-slug-guide.
Why URL slugs matter for SEO
Search engines use URL slugs to understand what a page is about. A clear, keyword-rich slug:
- Helps Google categorize your content
- Appears in search results (users see the URL)
- Gets used as anchor text when people copy-paste links
- Remains stable over time (changing URLs loses SEO value)
Good vs bad URL slugs
| Bad | Good |
|---|---|
/p?id=12345 |
/blog/how-to-compress-images |
/post-01-04-2025 |
/tools/image-compressor |
/The%20Best%20Tools! |
/best-online-tools |
/article_about_seo_2025 |
/seo-guide-2025 |
URL slug best practices
- Use hyphens (
-) not underscores (_) — Google treats hyphens as word separators - Keep it short — 3–5 words is ideal
- Include your keyword — the slug should reflect the page topic
- Lowercase only — URLs are case-sensitive; lowercase avoids duplicates
- Remove stop words — remove "the", "a", "and" etc. when possible
- No special characters — no
&,%,#,?,=,+
How to generate URL slugs free
- Go to Text to Slug Generator
- Paste your page title or text
- Choose separator (hyphen recommended)
- Toggle stop word removal for shorter slugs
- Preview the full URL with your domain
- Copy and use in your CMS
Changing existing slugs
If you need to change an existing URL slug:
- Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL
- Update all internal links pointing to the old URL
- Update your sitemap
- Submit the new URL to Google Search Console
Never change slugs without setting up redirects — you'll lose all SEO value.