A URL slug is the part of a web address that comes after the domain name and identifies a specific page. For example, in https://example.com/how-to-write-a-blog-post, the slug is 'how-to-write-a-blog-post'. Slugs should be short, descriptive, lowercase, and use hyphens instead of spaces.

Should I use hyphens or underscores in URL slugs?

Always use hyphens. Google treats hyphens as word separators, so 'my-article' is read as two separate words. Underscores are treated as connectors, so 'my_article' is read as one word. Hyphens produce better SEO results.

Can I change a URL slug after publishing?

Yes, but you should set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Without a redirect, the old URL will return a 404 error, and any SEO value and backlinks pointing to the old URL will be lost.

URL Slug Generator : Create SEO-Friendly Slugs Instantly

Q: Do URL slugs affect SEO?

Yes. Google uses the URL as a relevance signal. A slug containing your target keyword helps search engines understand your page's topic and can improve your rankings and click-through rate in search results.

Q: How long should a URL slug be?

Keep URL slugs between 3 and 5 words, or under 60-70 characters total. Shorter slugs are easier to share, more memorable, and display fully in search results without being cut off.

Type or paste any title, headline, or phrase and get a clean, SEO-optimized URL slug in one click. This free slug generator removes special characters, converts spaces to hyphens, strips stop words, and outputs a URL-ready string exactly as Google prefers it.

Slug Generator

Create SEO-friendly URL slugs instantly

Input Text

Separator

Remove Stop Words Remove Numbers

Generated Slug

0 characters

What Is a URL Slug?

A URL slug is the part of a web address that identifies a specific page. It sits after your domain name and communicates to both users and search engines what the page is about.

https://yourwebsite.com/how-to-write-better-blog-posts

A well-written slug is short, descriptive, all lowercase, and uses hyphens between words. It tells Google exactly what your page covers before a single crawler reads the body content.

Why URL Slugs Matter for SEO

URL slugs are a direct ranking signal. Google's documentation explicitly states that URL structure is taken into account when determining relevance. A slug containing your target keyword gives your page an immediate relevance boost.

Beyond rankings, there are two more reasons slugs matter:

👆

Click-Through Rate

Users see your URL in search results. A clear slug like /best-wireless-keyboards-2026 tells searchers exactly what they'll find. A slug like /p?id=8842 tells them nothing. The first gets more clicks.

🔗

Shareability

Descriptive slugs are easy to share verbally, in emails, or on social media. People are more likely to click a link they can read and understand at a glance.

What Makes a Good URL Slug?

A high-quality URL slug follows these rules:

🔡

Use Only Lowercase

URLs are case-sensitive. Always lowercase everything to avoid duplicate content issues between /My-Article and /my-article.

➖

Use Hyphens Between Words

Hyphens are Google's preferred word separator. Never use underscores, spaces (encoded as %20), or no separator at all.

🎯

Include Your Primary Keyword

The slug should contain the main keyword for that page a direct signal to search engines about your content's topic.

✂️

Remove Stop Words

Words like "a", "the", "and", "is", "to", and "of" add length without meaning. This generator removes them automatically.

📏

Keep It Short

Aim for 3 to 5 meaningful words. Under 70 characters is ideal so the full slug stays visible in search results.

📅

Avoid Dates (Usually)

Slugs like /2026/03/my-article are fine for news but hurt evergreen content you can't update the date without breaking the URL.

Examples Before and After

Here's how the generator transforms real page titles into clean, SEO-ready slugs:

Original Title	Generated Slug
How to Start a Blog in 2026	how-to-start-a-blog
The Best Wireless Keyboards for Developers	best-wireless-keyboards-developers
10 Tips for Writing Better Product Descriptions	tips-writing-better-product-descriptions
What Is JSON and How Does It Work?	what-is-json-how-it-works
Getting Started With Docker Compose	getting-started-docker-compose

How to Use This Slug Generator

Generating a clean slug takes just a few seconds:

Type or paste your page title into the input box.
Click Generate Slug.
Review the output and edit if needed.
Click Copy and paste the slug into your CMS.

Where to paste it in your CMS:

🔵

WordPress

Paste into the Permalink field just below the post title in the editor.

🟣

Webflow

Paste into the Slug field inside page settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a URL slug?

A URL slug is the final segment of a web address that identifies a specific page. In https://example.com/how-to-write-a-blog-post, the slug is how-to-write-a-blog-post.

Do URL slugs affect SEO?

Yes. Google uses URL structure as a relevance signal. Including your target keyword in the slug helps search engines understand the topic and can improve both rankings and click-through rates from search results.

Should I use hyphens or underscores?

Always use hyphens. Google treats hyphens as word separators. Underscores connect words meaning my_page is read as one word rather than two, which hurts keyword recognition.

How long should a URL slug be?

Aim for 3 to 5 words, or under 70 characters. Shorter slugs are more readable, more shareable, and display fully in search results without being truncated.

Can I change a slug after publishing?

Yes, but always set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Without it, you lose all SEO value and backlinks associated with the old URL.

Better Slugs, Better Rankings

A clean, keyword-focused URL slug is one of the simplest on-page SEO improvements you can make. It costs nothing, takes seconds, and gives every page a clearer signal to search engines from the moment it's published.

Use this free slug generator to turn any page title into a short, readable, SEO-ready URL instantly, with no setup required.