On-Page SEO
URL Slug
A URL slug is the readable part of a web address that identifies a specific page, such as `seo-audit` in `/seo-audit/`.
Short, descriptive, hyphenated slugs that include the target keyword are easier for users and search engines to understand. Avoid dates, parameters, and long strings of numbers where you can. Once a URL ranks, change it only with a proper 301 redirect.
Slugs are the one on-page element that should never change casually: every edit invalidates shared links, requires a redirect, and resets social counts. Decide format once, lowercase, hyphens, short, descriptive, no dates, and hold it. Thai sites face a real choice between Thai-script slugs, readable to the audience but percent-encoded into noise when shared, and transliterated or English slugs that stay clean everywhere. Either works; mixing both across one site is the failure, because it splits the pattern the next hundred pages will follow.
Example
Three addresses for the same article: /p?id=8412 says nothing, /2022/03/15/the-complete-and-definitive-guide-to-search-engine-optimization-for-beginners-in-2022 buries it in dates and filler, /seo-guide/ says everything. The third is readable in a shared link, survives yearly updates without a date contradicting the content, and needs no redirect for the life of the page.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I put keywords in my URL slug?
- A descriptive slug naturally contains the keyword, and that is the right amount: /seo-audit/ works because it describes the page. Repeating variants or stacking terms into the slug adds nothing and looks manufactured in every share and citation.
- Can I change a URL slug after publishing?
- Only with a 301 from the old URL, and only when the gain justifies resetting shared links and social history. For established pages the answer is usually to leave the slug alone; consistency beats a marginally prettier address.
Related terms
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