The slug is the part of a URL that identifies one specific page, usually the segment after the final slash. In https://example.com/blog/okr-template, the slug is okr-template. A good slug is short, readable and describes the page, so a person can guess what they will get before clicking and a search engine gets one more plain hint about the topic.
What makes a good slug
Google's URL structure guidance asks for simple, descriptive URLs that use words rather than long ID numbers, and recommends hyphens to separate words instead of underscores. Beyond that, the rules are mostly about humans: a slug appears in shared links, in browser history and sometimes in search results, so it should read cleanly.
- Lowercase, words separated by hyphens
- Describes the topic, usually built from the main phrase the page targets
- Drops filler words when they add nothing, but keeps them when meaning depends on them
- No dates or years unless the page is truly tied to one, because the content will outlive them
- No session IDs, tracking parameters or internal CMS codes
Good: https://example.com/blog/okr-template
Weak: https://example.com/blog/?p=4821
Weak: https://example.com/blog/the-best-okr-template-for-2024-free-download-nowHow much slugs matter
Words in a URL are a small signal at most. Google has said it uses URLs mainly to identify and crawl pages, and it often shows breadcrumbs or just the domain in place of the full path. The practical value of a clean slug is clarity, consistency across the site, and links that still make sense when pasted into Slack or an email.
That is also why changing slugs on existing pages is rarely worth it for SEO alone. Every change needs a redirect and an update to internal links, and the benefit is small.
Slugs and site structure
The folders before the slug matter too. /integrations/salesforce and /blog/salesforce-crm-tips tell different stories about what the page is and where it sits. Decide a pattern for each page type (features, integrations, use cases, blog, docs) and stick to it, so new pages slot in without debate.
Example
A blog post that kept its year
Hypothetical analytics SaaS Graphwick published /blog/saas-metrics-2023. Two years later the post was refreshed with new material, but the slug still announced its age in every search result and shared link.
The team moved it to /blog/saas-metrics with a 301 redirect, updated internal links and the sitemap, and decided all future evergreen posts would use dateless slugs.
Common mistakes
Changing slugs without redirects
Renaming a slug creates a new URL. Without a 301 from the old one, existing links and rankings point at a 404.
Stuffing keywords into the slug
A slug that repeats the keyword or strings together several variations looks spammy in shared links and gives no extra benefit.
Questions
No. It should describe the same topic, but it can be shorter. The title can change over time; the slug ideally never does.
Hyphens. Google's guidance recommends hyphens to separate words in URLs.
