What Is a Slug? The URL Slug Explained With Examples

A slug is the descriptive part of a URL that comes after the last forward slash and indicates what the page is about. In yourcompany.be/services/accounting-software, accounting-software is the slug. It is a small but highly visible piece of your web address that immediately tells both people and search engines what to expect. In this article you will read what a slug is, how to create a good one and why you should keep it stable.

What is a slug exactly?

Every URL consists of parts: the domain, any folders and, at the end, the slug. The slug is the last, unique part that names the specific page. Compare:

• Bad: yourcompany.be/p?id=4821
• Good: yourcompany.be/blog/b2b-lead-generation

In the second one, b2b-lead-generation is the slug, and it tells you before you click what the page is about. The term comes from journalism, where a “slug” was the short working name of an article.

To see exactly where the slug sits, it helps to break a URL down into its parts. Take https://yourcompany.be/blog/b2b-lead-generation:

The slug is therefore the last, unique part that names the specific page, and it is also the element you as a content creator have the most direct control over. The full combination of domain, path and slug forms the permalink: the permanent address of the page. A good slug belongs in your approach to SEO-friendly URLs, aligns with your internal links and fits into your broader SEO.

How do you create a good slug?

A strong slug is short, clear and readable. The concrete rules:

• Keep it short: 3 to 5 words. Enough to describe the content, not so much that it becomes a sentence.
• Use hyphens, not underscores. Write b2b-lead-generation, not b2b_lead_generation. Search engines read a hyphen as a word separator, an underscore not.
• Lowercase only. Capitals can be seen as separate URLs and cause duplicate content.
• Put your most important keyword in it. Simply the word the page wants to be found for, without forcing it.
• Leave out stop words and odd characters. Words such as “the”, “and” and “of” can go, as can spaces, accents and %20 clutter.

Rule of thumb: if you can read the slug out loud without spelling it, you are on the right track.

An example from B2B practice

Imagine: a software company publishes a new service page and the CMS automatically generates the slug solution-2024-v2-final. That is an internal working name, not an address a prospect trusts. Someone who sees a link on LinkedIn with v2-final in it unconsciously wonders whether this is really the right, current page.

If you change that slug to accounting-software-for-smes before publishing, three things happen at once. The link becomes shareable and understandable, your most important keyword sits in it neatly, and the URL no longer ages along with internal version numbers. In practice we see that trust is the biggest winner: in a B2B purchase several people look along, and a clean URL leaves less room for doubt.

Common mistakes

A few pitfalls we see time and again:

• Leaving the automatic slug as it is. Many CMSes build the slug from the full title, including stop words and dates. Shorten it before you publish.
• Changing the slug without a redirect. This is the most expensive mistake, because you lose links and link equity. More on that below.
• Putting the date in the slug. /blog/2024/lead-generation forces you to change the URL as soon as the content is no longer “from 2024”. Leave the year out unless it genuinely belongs to the content.
• Stacking keywords. b2b-lead-generation-generate-leads-companies reads like spam. One clear keyword is enough.

Why can’t you just change a slug?

Because by changing the slug you change the entire URL, and a changed URL is a broken URL without a redirect. Every link that pointed to the old version (shared posts, emails, mentions on other sites and the backlinks you collected) suddenly points to a 404.

If you do have to adjust a slug, always set up a 301 redirect from old to new, update your internal links and update your sitemap. The safe rule: pick a good slug when you create the page and then leave it alone.

Google itself recommends in its documentation on URL structure using simple, readable URLs with words instead of cryptic IDs or superfluous parameters. If you want to know how those parameters make your URLs messy, read what a URL parameter is.

Honestly: how much weight does a slug carry?

We would rather say it upfront. A keyword in your slug will not suddenly make you rank higher. The effect is small. The real gain lies in readability, trust and shareability: a clean slug gets clicked and shared more often.

For most B2B sites this is therefore low-hanging fruit. If your slugs are already short and logical, do not go “optimising” them for an imaginary advantage. Point your attention at content, authority and conversion instead, because that is where the revenue sits. Bad slugs full of parameters? Then you have found a quick, one-off fix.

Ready to get your URL basics in order?

Slugs and URL structure are exactly the kind of work we love: do it well once and then tick it off. We are a small team that moves fast, focused on B2B, and we tell you honestly when something is not worth the effort, even when your slugs are already fine.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a slug and a permalink?

The permalink is the full, permanent URL of a page. The slug is only the descriptive piece at the end, after the last forward slash. The slug is therefore a component of the permalink.

Does my keyword have to be in the slug?

Preferably yes, without forcing it. The ranking benefit is small, but a slug with your keyword in it is clearer for visitors and gets clicked more often in the search results.

Hyphens or underscores in a slug?

Hyphens. Search engines read my-slug as two separate words, whereas my_slug is seen as one word. So always use hyphens as the word separator.

Can I still change an existing slug?

Only with a good reason and always with a 301 redirect from old to new. Without a redirect you lose traffic and link equity. If your slug is already good, leave it alone.