How to Best Use Slugs in WordPress?

Slugs are something every WordPress user has heard about, but not many understand. Despite sounding vague or technical, slugs are actually very easy to grasp.

In simple terms, slugs are the part of your URL that names your page. In many cases, they would be exactly the same as your title. However, in cases of long titles, slugs are designed to convey the important details in the URL without making the URL hard to understand or use.

Slugs and SEO

The most effective use of slugs comes in SEO. Since SEO relies on keywords, it is a good idea to use keywords in your slug. The trick lies in using the keywords without spamming or making the URL complicated or senseless.

Most people suggest that the slugs shouldn’t be too long. So, use shorter keywords as a part of your URL.

Keep Slugs Simple

You must resist the temptation of giving as many details as possible in the slugs. Like we said, shorter slugs are the most effective. At the same time, only the most relevant words must be used, so that they convey the essential theme of the page.

Long slugs are often ignored by search engines as spams, so avoid them at all costs.

Take Your Keywords

In order to have better visibility in search results, use keywords in your slug. However, make sure that the keywords are small, and are used only when required. Spamming will definitely spoil the fun.

Don’t Change Your Mind

WordPress gives you the ability to change the permalink (and hence, the slug) at any time- even after publishing. However, that will have consequences. It would result in broken hyperlinks, including to all those backlinks other pages/sites might have used for the original slug.

Wrap-Up:

Slugs are very easy and effective way to keep your URL appealing and efficient at the same time. A judicial use of slugs will definitely increase the traffic for you.