8 Slug Generators to Use
Slug generators are tools we never knew we needed at the beginning of our SEO journey.
What is a Slug?
Basically, a slug is a part of a web page’s URL that tells the reader a little bit about the content. All content within a blog starts with the same string, which is usually the domain name. To separate different parts of the website from each other, it will have a path. Usually, the path is a category or a menu within your blog. Each category or menu option has different pages within, known as content. In some cases, these are known as blog posts. Each blog post has a distinct string of words so it will have a unique URL. This part of the URL is the slug.
Each word in a slug is separated by a dash and all letters are in lower case. Remember, slugs make the webpage unique from other pages. The cases used for the letters matter a great deal. Here is an example:
www.mywebsite.com/articles/learn-create-slugs
vs.
www.mywebsite.com/articles/Learn-Create-Slugs
Take note that the cases used for the slug (learn-create-slugs vs. Learn-Create-Slugs) make the two URLs different from each other. This means that these are two unique URLs that may lead to errors in the long run. So, best to avoid upper case letters when creating slugs.
How useful are Slugs for SEO?
The URL is an essential tool in your blog’s visibility online. The Slug may not weigh as much as the content itself, the keyword usage, and the like, but it still contributes to the SEO performance of your website. Some websites automatically generate slugs that contain post IDs instead of title-based Slug. These are considered more traditional but are less reader-friendly. It also makes it difficult for the content creator to track their work without using the right slug.
How do we optimize Slug in SEO?
One useful PRO TIP for creating titles would be to always include your focus keywords. Since Slugs are just strings created from your content’s title, the Slug also contains important keywords. Another PRO TIP is to make sure to remove stop words. Usually, when stop words are taken out of a sentence, readers can still make sense out of the rest of the words. This makes your Slug precise and of the right length. Lengthy slugs are not advisable as there is a viewable limit to every URL. Shorter URLs rank better on SERPs and users can also type shorter URLs easier. So this is a good consideration when creating slug for your content.
What are good Slug Generators to use?
WordPress already has a feature that automatically generates a Slug for you. However, this does not mean that you cannot create your own slug. There are also plug-ins like Yoast that have this very feature. If you feel like you want to have and know your Slug options for your new post, here are some great Slug generators to use:
Also read: 13 Perks to Offer Readers to Improve Subscription Rates
