SEO-Friendly URLs: Best Practices for Slugs

What is a slug and how can I modify it?

The slug is the term that names a specific page contained within a URL.

Let's take this URL as an example: /blog/web-migration/

Where the slug is /web-migration/

What is a friendly URL?

A friendly URL is one that has a slug and does not contain parameters and/or numbers in it, allowing it to be readable for both users and search engines. If there is no friendly URL, there would be no slug either.

As illustrated in the following example:

www.example.com/?p=227

Why should I optimize the slug for SEO?

Is the URL important in our search engine positioning strategy? Of course!

Here are some of the most important arguments:

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  URLs are an influential factor in SEO positioning since they must contain a specific keyword.

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  The information architecture of a website will follow a folder structure that goes from categories to product pages.

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  The URL must contain the correct keyword within our semantic strategy.

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  The URL tells Google and the user the name of the page, so it is relevant that it is properly optimized to guide the user, and to indicate to Google the content of the page through its keyword.

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  An optimized URL is essential when displaying a search result to the user.

• ›URL optimization falls within the category of on-page SEO where, based on keyword research, URLs will be optimized according to a prior semantic architecture.

Tips for creating a friendly URL

Follow these optimization tips to achieve friendly URLs:

Always use lowercase letters

Google does not like URLs with uppercase letters, so never use them.

Do not introduce punctuation marks

Avoid using underscores (_), semicolons (;), or periods (.). These attributes do not add value and will only clutter the URL.

No parameters

The use of the question mark "?" usually indicates that the URL is a search URL. As in the case: https://www.zalando.es/mujer/?q=zapatos+negros

Do not introduce numbers randomly

Numbers do not add much to the description of a URL, so avoid their use if you want a friendly URL.

Exclude the use of articles in the URL

Words like "in" or "and" do not add much information to a URL and also lengthen it, so we should exclude their use.

Avoid spaces between words, opt for hyphens

Hyphens are the substitutes for spaces in the URL, allowing it to be friendly.

Add the keyword

You must be objective in your choice, since it must represent the content of the page and help position it in search engines. Do not overdo it with the number of words; two or three is enough.

The shorter the better

It should be brief and descriptive. Try to synthesize the content of the page in two or three words that represent it and that appear within your keyword research.

Be natural

It is always the best option to choose naturalness when selecting keywords. If you do not force the construction of URLs, you will please Google.

How to optimize the URL for SEO in WordPress?

Fortunately, all CMSs or content managers have the possibility of modifying the URL to add an optimized slug. If you do not optimize it, WordPress will give you a slug composed of a random set of numbers and letters that is part of an ID, and which, as you can understand, adds nothing from an SEO perspective. With WordPress you can change slugs on pages, posts, categories, tags, users, product categories, and product pages.

Recommended Material: WordPress SEO Tutorial

WordPress makes life easy, and by following these simple steps you can achieve a friendly URL:

1. Configure the Permalinks

Change the default WordPress configuration to get a friendly URL. You must go to Settings > Permalinks to choose the permalink structure you prefer. But, what are permalinks? Permalinks differ from slugs in that they build the link structure of a website.

2. Select the post name option to have friendly URLs

To edit the friendly URLs of posts, you just have to go to "Settings" > "Permalinks" and there select "post name" for the articles you write.

You can also modify the category

3. Modify it manually

Within each page or post you will have the ability to modify it manually. Select "edit", add the one you want, and then "accept".

4. Modify it with an SEO plugin

If you use a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you can modify the URLs by editing the snippet.

Recommendations and warnings

So far we have given you some guidelines to improve your URLs. Now, we would like to mention some typical mistakes we have seen and a small warning.

Unique URLs

Do not forget that each slug must be unique, because otherwise WordPress will add a "2" to the URL since that slug is already in use in another previously created URL and cannot be repeated. Keep in mind that it can also detect the duplicate slug of a post that is in the trash, so in that case you must delete it from the trash to prevent this duplication from being detected.

URL changes

Be careful! You must be very attentive when changing the slug of existing URLs by performing a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Because if you do not, the page will give a 404 error and users accessing the old URL will not reach the page content. The Yoast SEO plugin will help you with redirects to prevent this from happening.

Conclusion

Follow these tips and you will see how they help you improve the CTR or click-through rate of your search results, offering the user a clear URL that synthesizes the content of the page it leads to. For more tips and best practices in your SEO positioning strategy, contact us and we will be happy to help you.