[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":470},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-url-slug-guide":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":460,"description":461,"extension":462,"meta":463,"navigation":464,"path":465,"readingTime":466,"seo":467,"stem":468,"__hash__":469},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Furl-slug-guide.md","URL Slug Guide: What Slugs Are and Why They Matter for SEO",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":443},"minimark",[9,14,18,29,40,44,47,58,72,78,82,85,166,170,283,287,292,295,299,310,314,329,333,340,345,356,361,372,379,383,406,410,431,435],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-is-a-url-slug","What Is a URL Slug?",[15,16,17],"p",{},"A URL slug is the human-readable part of a URL that identifies a specific page. It sits after the domain and any path prefixes, describing the page content in plain words.",[19,20,25],"pre",{"className":21,"code":23,"language":24},[22],"language-text","https:\u002F\u002Fexample.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-optimize-seo\n                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n                              This is the slug\n","text",[26,27,23],"code",{"__ignoreMap":28},"",[15,30,31,32,35,36,39],{},"Slugs replace messy query strings and numeric IDs with descriptive text. Instead of ",[26,33,34],{},"\u002Fpost?id=3847",", you get ",[26,37,38],{},"\u002Fhotels-in-london"," — a URL that both humans and search engines understand at a glance.",[10,41,43],{"id":42},"why-slugs-matter-for-seo","Why Slugs Matter for SEO",[15,45,46],{},"Slugs influence search rankings in three ways: readability, keyword relevance, and click-through rate.",[15,48,49,53,54,57],{},[50,51,52],"strong",{},"Readability."," Google has confirmed that clean URLs earn a minor ranking boost. When a URL uses real words instead of IDs, crawlers extract topic signals more easily. Users also trust readable links — a slug like ",[26,55,56],{},"\u002Fhealthy-smoothie-recipes"," tells you exactly what to expect.",[15,59,60,63,64,67,68,71],{},[50,61,62],{},"Keyword relevance."," Words in the slug carry weight in search algorithms. Placing your target keyword in the slug signals topical alignment. A page targeting \"best running shoes\" benefits from the slug ",[26,65,66],{},"\u002Fbest-running-shoes"," far more than ",[26,69,70],{},"\u002Fpage-42",".",[15,73,74,77],{},[50,75,76],{},"Click-through rate."," Search results display the URL below the title. A descriptive slug acts as a second headline, encouraging clicks. Studies show that short, meaningful URLs can improve CTR by up to 25% compared to generic or numeric URLs.",[10,79,81],{"id":80},"slug-generation-rules","Slug Generation Rules",[15,83,84],{},"Follow these rules to produce slugs that work for both users and search engines:",[86,87,88,103,109,129,154,160],"ul",{},[89,90,91,94,95,98,99,102],"li",{},[50,92,93],{},"Lowercase everything."," MixEd-CaSe slugs create duplicate content risks — ",[26,96,97],{},"\u002FAbout-Us"," and ",[26,100,101],{},"\u002Fabout-us"," may serve the same page but look different to crawlers.",[89,104,105,108],{},[50,106,107],{},"Separate words with hyphens."," Google treats hyphens as word separators. Underscores are not recognized as separators by most search engines.",[89,110,111,114,115,118,119,118,122,118,125,128],{},[50,112,113],{},"Remove special characters."," Symbols like ",[26,116,117],{},"!",", ",[26,120,121],{},"@",[26,123,124],{},"#",[26,126,127],{},"%"," are stripped entirely or percent-encoded, producing ugly URLs.",[89,130,131,134,135,138,139,118,142,138,145,118,148,138,151,71],{},[50,132,133],{},"Strip diacritics."," Convert accented characters to their ASCII equivalents: ",[26,136,137],{},"é"," → ",[26,140,141],{},"e",[26,143,144],{},"ü",[26,146,147],{},"u",[26,149,150],{},"ñ",[26,152,153],{},"n",[89,155,156,159],{},[50,157,158],{},"Collapse multiple separators."," Replace consecutive hyphens or spaces with a single hyphen.",[89,161,162,165],{},[50,163,164],{},"Trim leading and trailing separators."," Slugs should never start or end with a hyphen.",[10,167,169],{"id":168},"good-slugs-vs-bad-slugs","Good Slugs vs Bad Slugs",[171,172,173,189],"table",{},[174,175,176],"thead",{},[177,178,179,183,186],"tr",{},[180,181,182],"th",{},"Bad Slug",[180,184,185],{},"Problem",[180,187,188],{},"Good Slug",[190,191,192,208,223,238,253,268],"tbody",{},[177,193,194,200,203],{},[195,196,197],"td",{},[26,198,199],{},"\u002FBlog_Post_About_SEO",[195,201,202],{},"Uppercase, underscores",[195,204,205],{},[26,206,207],{},"\u002Fblog-post-about-seo",[177,209,210,215,218],{},[195,211,212],{},[26,213,214],{},"\u002Fhow%20to%20cook%20pasta",[195,216,217],{},"Encoded spaces",[195,219,220],{},[26,221,222],{},"\u002Fhow-to-cook-pasta",[177,224,225,230,233],{},[195,226,227],{},[26,228,229],{},"\u002Fcategory\u002Fsub\u002Fpost-38472",[195,231,232],{},"Numeric ID, deep nesting",[195,234,235],{},[26,236,237],{},"\u002Fhow-to-fix-a-leaky-faucet",[177,239,240,245,248],{},[195,241,242],{},[26,243,244],{},"\u002Fcafé-recipes",[195,246,247],{},"Non-ASCII character",[195,249,250],{},[26,251,252],{},"\u002Fcafe-recipes",[177,254,255,260,263],{},[195,256,257],{},[26,258,259],{},"\u002Ftop---10---tips",[195,261,262],{},"Multiple hyphens",[195,264,265],{},[26,266,267],{},"\u002Ftop-10-tips",[177,269,270,275,278],{},[195,271,272],{},[26,273,274],{},"\u002Fa-complete-and-total-guide-to-everything-about-seo-optimization",[195,276,277],{},"Keyword stuffing, too long",[195,279,280],{},[26,281,282],{},"\u002Fcomplete-seo-guide",[10,284,286],{"id":285},"how-different-cms-platforms-handle-slugs","How Different CMS Platforms Handle Slugs",[288,289,291],"h3",{"id":290},"wordpress","WordPress",[15,293,294],{},"WordPress auto-generates slugs from post titles. You can edit the slug before publishing in the post editor. WordPress strips special characters, converts to lowercase, and uses hyphens. Permalink settings control the overall URL structure.",[288,296,298],{"id":297},"nextjs","Next.js",[15,300,301,302,305,306,309],{},"In Next.js, slugs come from the file system. A file named ",[26,303,304],{},"[slug].js"," inside ",[26,307,308],{},"\u002Fpages\u002Fblog\u002F"," captures the slug as a route parameter. You generate slug values yourself when creating content, typically during the build step from frontmatter or a headless CMS.",[288,311,313],{"id":312},"nuxt","Nuxt",[15,315,316,317,320,321,324,325,328],{},"Nuxt follows a similar pattern. Dynamic routes use ",[26,318,319],{},"[slug].vue"," files. With Nuxt Content, the file path defines the route automatically — a file at ",[26,322,323],{},"content\u002Fblog\u002Fmy-post.md"," maps to ",[26,326,327],{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmy-post",". The slug is derived from the filename, so name your content files carefully.",[10,330,332],{"id":331},"the-slug-vs-uuid-debate","The Slug vs UUID Debate",[15,334,335,336,339],{},"Some teams use UUIDs instead of slugs for resource URLs: ",[26,337,338],{},"\u002Fusers\u002F550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",". This approach avoids slug collision and eliminates the need for slug generation logic.",[15,341,342],{},[50,343,344],{},"When UUIDs make sense:",[86,346,347,350,353],{},[89,348,349],{},"Internal APIs and admin dashboards where readability doesn't matter",[89,351,352],{},"Systems that require globally unique identifiers without coordination",[89,354,355],{},"Short-lived resources that search engines won't index",[15,357,358],{},[50,359,360],{},"When slugs win:",[86,362,363,366,369],{},[89,364,365],{},"Public-facing pages that need search visibility",[89,367,368],{},"Content that users share or bookmark",[89,370,371],{},"URLs displayed in navigation, breadcrumbs, or social media previews",[15,373,374,375,378],{},"A common compromise: include both the slug and the ID — ",[26,376,377],{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-code-abc123",". The slug provides readability and SEO value; the ID guarantees uniqueness.",[10,380,382],{"id":381},"key-takeaways","Key Takeaways",[86,384,385,388,391,394,397,400,403],{},[89,386,387],{},"A slug is the descriptive, human-readable segment of a URL",[89,389,390],{},"Slugs directly influence SEO readability, keyword signals, and click-through rate",[89,392,393],{},"Always use lowercase, hyphens, and ASCII-only characters",[89,395,396],{},"Keep slugs concise — 3 to 5 words is the sweet spot",[89,398,399],{},"Strip diacritics and special characters during generation",[89,401,402],{},"Different CMS platforms handle slug generation differently — know your platform",[89,404,405],{},"Combine slugs with IDs when you need both readability and guaranteed uniqueness",[10,407,409],{"id":408},"related-guides","Related Guides",[86,411,412,419,425],{},[89,413,414],{},[415,416,418],"a",{"href":417},"\u002Fguides\u002Fseo-friendly-urls","SEO-Friendly URLs: Structure, Keywords, and Best Practices",[89,420,421],{},[415,422,424],{"href":423},"\u002Fguides\u002Fslugification-how-it-works","How Slugification Works: From Title to URL-Safe String",[89,426,427],{},[415,428,430],{"href":429},"\u002Fguides\u002Furl-encoding-guide","URL Encoding Guide",[10,432,434],{"id":433},"try-it-yourself","Try It Yourself",[15,436,437,438,442],{},"Generate clean, SEO-ready slugs from any title instantly with our free ",[415,439,441],{"href":440},"\u002Ftools\u002Fslug-generator","Slug Generator",". Paste your heading, get a URL-safe slug in one click — no signup required.",{"title":28,"searchDepth":444,"depth":444,"links":445},2,[446,447,448,449,450,456,457,458,459],{"id":12,"depth":444,"text":13},{"id":42,"depth":444,"text":43},{"id":80,"depth":444,"text":81},{"id":168,"depth":444,"text":169},{"id":285,"depth":444,"text":286,"children":451},[452,454,455],{"id":290,"depth":453,"text":291},3,{"id":297,"depth":453,"text":298},{"id":312,"depth":453,"text":313},{"id":331,"depth":444,"text":332},{"id":381,"depth":444,"text":382},{"id":408,"depth":444,"text":409},{"id":433,"depth":444,"text":434},"2026-05-28","Learn what URL slugs are, how they impact SEO, and best practices for creating clean, human-readable URLs for your website.","md",{"immutable":464},true,"\u002Fguides\u002Furl-slug-guide",6,{"title":5,"description":461},"guides\u002Furl-slug-guide","zPNZAJFUzuq0anR0FDrYd1RKJv_49TgSxRNG_MpgCEY",1780401326500]