Slug is a newspaper term, slug is a kind of short tag that contains only letters, numbers, underscores or hyphens. Usually used in URLs, in seo, a slug is called a url fixed link and is the part of the URL after the last backslash.
Why Slug is important to SEO?
Slug is very powerful for keyword SEO. If a user is searching for “what is a slug” on Google, the keywords in the URL structure of your content help indicate to Google that your content should be included in the SERP. If a good slug clearly describes the content of a page, it can improve the user experience and help Google crawlers understand how to access your page and validate the content on it.
Is Web Slug important for search engine ranking?
The short answer is yes. Using SEO keywords in your URL can help you rank for your target keywords. Google uses URLs as a factor in ranking your pages, so if the URL slug contains your keywords, then Google will be more likely to rank it.
Is there a difference between a URL Slug and a URL?
The URL slug is the last part of the complete URL.
The URL itself is the entire Web address of the page.
Slug and URL formats on different CMSs
Various content management systems (CMS) are used for different reasons. Each CMS may use slugs in a different way.
For example, if you build your site with Wix, you can customize and change your slug; however, there are specific slugs that you cannot use. Such slugs are reserved for Wix applications and are considered unavailable.
Shopify URL Format
Shopify follows a very specific format when it comes to URLs: /products/subfolder
Changing slugs can be difficult. Shopify Web URLs are interlinked, so changing slugs may result in broken links.
You can try to apply a parent-child URL structure to your own slug by using a layer of filters or tags. However, these tags will not be as flexible for the product. If you choose to do so, these URLs will also be difficult to migrate out of Shopify. According to the Shopify community forums, you may want to ask the Shopify support team for a custom slug.
Bigcommerce URL Format
Bigcommerce is a website builder platform that includes the option to create an online store. It is arguably more customizable than Shopify in terms of URL structure, but the platform still follows a specific format. The platform provides all the tools needed to open an online store, and Bigcommerce’s tools are easy to use, which is appealing to people who are not too keen on building and customizing their settings.
WordPress URL format
WordPress offers greater freedom in terms of slug. You can edit the URLs of your uploaded pages and blog posts and change them at any time.
This URL may raise some important questions: What is Z? Does this URL point to a page about us? Are those map coordinates? Why is the word “now open” featured? Is it a store?
It is always worth trying to customize the URL slug for both user experience and indexing purposes. Make the slug as simple as possible so that users can easily find your page.
Best Practices for URL
Begin your URL with HTTPS
The HTTP protocol provides a secure and encrypted connection. If you do not have this protocol, most web browsers will alert the user that they are going to an unsecured site. Often, this will prevent the user from proceeding.
Have a clear domain
If you can, match your brand name to your domain name. This helps users and search engines easily understand where they are located.
For example: “https://affiv.com” points to the affiv.com website. You can see their brand name in the URL, so you can rest assured that when you click on it, you will land on the AFFIV website.
Notice how there is no “www” in front of the address? While it is technically still part of the URL (and you can include it if you want), it is no longer required by convention.
Using subdomains
If you want to read the blog of blog, you can add this subdomain to the root domain: https://affiv.com/blog/
This URL will take you to a page that displays the latest articles and an option to search the article database for any topic you are interested in.
Optimize page paths with keywords
Here, you add the target keyword to the URL slug; this is easy for the crawler bot to understand and match the page content.
Avoid putting years in URLs. You will be able to easily update the content without changing the URL. any page rights or rankings the page receives will remain the same and the content will remain evergreen. If you do need the date in the URL, remember to redirect when updating to the new year.
Include keywords whenever possible. The URL is a giant blinking sign that tells search engines what your page is about. If someone searches for “how to make blueberry pie” and the URL slug on your page is “how to make blueberry pie”, it clearly matches the search intent. the URL clearly describes what’s on the page.
Clear the slug to avoid duplicate content. If you have a similar URL slug, Google may have difficulty distinguishing the content of the page and therefore choose not to serve either page on the SERP. A live audit can help avoid parameter crawling issues with any URLs.
Key Points
SEO can be used for all parts of your online presence, even for your URLs. every bit of on-page optimization can help you enter the world of SEO. Remember to be clear about your slug so that users and search engines know exactly what’s on your page.
English 
Français 
日本語 
Deutsch (Sie) 
Italiano 
Polski 
Português 
ไทย 
Bahasa Indonesia 
Español
What is Slug and Why is It Important for SEO?
What is URL Slug?
Slug is a newspaper term, slug is a kind of short tag that contains only letters, numbers, underscores or hyphens. Usually used in URLs, in seo, a slug is called a url fixed link and is the part of the URL after the last backslash.
Why Slug is important to SEO?
Slug is very powerful for keyword SEO. If a user is searching for “what is a slug” on Google, the keywords in the URL structure of your content help indicate to Google that your content should be included in the SERP. If a good slug clearly describes the content of a page, it can improve the user experience and help Google crawlers understand how to access your page and validate the content on it.
Is Web Slug important for search engine ranking?
The short answer is yes. Using SEO keywords in your URL can help you rank for your target keywords. Google uses URLs as a factor in ranking your pages, so if the URL slug contains your keywords, then Google will be more likely to rank it.
Is there a difference between a URL Slug and a URL?
The URL slug is the last part of the complete URL.
The URL itself is the entire Web address of the page.
Slug and URL formats on different CMSs
Various content management systems (CMS) are used for different reasons. Each CMS may use slugs in a different way.
For example, if you build your site with Wix, you can customize and change your slug; however, there are specific slugs that you cannot use. Such slugs are reserved for Wix applications and are considered unavailable.
Shopify URL Format
Shopify follows a very specific format when it comes to URLs: /products/subfolder
/products/subfolder – product pages
/collections/subfolder – product category pages
/pages/subfolder – web pages
Changing slugs can be difficult. Shopify Web URLs are interlinked, so changing slugs may result in broken links.
You can try to apply a parent-child URL structure to your own slug by using a layer of filters or tags. However, these tags will not be as flexible for the product. If you choose to do so, these URLs will also be difficult to migrate out of Shopify. According to the Shopify community forums, you may want to ask the Shopify support team for a custom slug.
Bigcommerce URL Format
Bigcommerce is a website builder platform that includes the option to create an online store. It is arguably more customizable than Shopify in terms of URL structure, but the platform still follows a specific format. The platform provides all the tools needed to open an online store, and Bigcommerce’s tools are easy to use, which is appealing to people who are not too keen on building and customizing their settings.
WordPress URL format
WordPress offers greater freedom in terms of slug. You can edit the URLs of your uploaded pages and blog posts and change them at any time.
Read Also: Why On-Page SEO Is Important? How To Write On-Page SEO Friendly Article In 2021
Bad URL Slug
A poorly structured URL may look like spam or a scam. To users, this can be so offensive that they may not click on it.
For example, let’s review this URL.
https://z.co.nz/about-z/find-us/map/-47.26432,150.007324,-34.542762,-174.836426/all/opennow/any/
This URL may raise some important questions: What is Z? Does this URL point to a page about us? Are those map coordinates? Why is the word “now open” featured? Is it a store?
It is always worth trying to customize the URL slug for both user experience and indexing purposes. Make the slug as simple as possible so that users can easily find your page.
Best Practices for URL
Begin your URL with HTTPS
The HTTP protocol provides a secure and encrypted connection. If you do not have this protocol, most web browsers will alert the user that they are going to an unsecured site. Often, this will prevent the user from proceeding.
Have a clear domain
If you can, match your brand name to your domain name. This helps users and search engines easily understand where they are located.
For example: “https://affiv.com” points to the affiv.com website. You can see their brand name in the URL, so you can rest assured that when you click on it, you will land on the AFFIV website.
Notice how there is no “www” in front of the address? While it is technically still part of the URL (and you can include it if you want), it is no longer required by convention.
Using subdomains
If you want to read the blog of blog, you can add this subdomain to the root domain: https://affiv.com/blog/
This URL will take you to a page that displays the latest articles and an option to search the article database for any topic you are interested in.
Optimize page paths with keywords
Here, you add the target keyword to the URL slug; this is easy for the crawler bot to understand and match the page content.
For example, we’ll look at this URL: https://affiv.com/why-on-page-seo-is-important-how-to-write-on-page-seo-friendly-article-in-2021/
We can see that this page is a blog post about on-page SEO basics.
Some good tips for URL structure also include.
Avoid putting years in URLs. You will be able to easily update the content without changing the URL. any page rights or rankings the page receives will remain the same and the content will remain evergreen. If you do need the date in the URL, remember to redirect when updating to the new year.
Include keywords whenever possible. The URL is a giant blinking sign that tells search engines what your page is about. If someone searches for “how to make blueberry pie” and the URL slug on your page is “how to make blueberry pie”, it clearly matches the search intent. the URL clearly describes what’s on the page.
Clear the slug to avoid duplicate content. If you have a similar URL slug, Google may have difficulty distinguishing the content of the page and therefore choose not to serve either page on the SERP. A live audit can help avoid parameter crawling issues with any URLs.
Key Points
SEO can be used for all parts of your online presence, even for your URLs. every bit of on-page optimization can help you enter the world of SEO. Remember to be clear about your slug so that users and search engines know exactly what’s on your page.
Related posts:
Related