What are slugs? Synthesize accurate AZ knowledge about Wordpress Slug

When it comes to SEO Wordpress, we can’t help but mention Slug. Indeed, creating the right Slug has become an essential standard for SEO of any Wordpress site. So what are slugs ? How to optimize Slug? Stay tuned for this post!

What are slugs?

A slug is a part of a URL that identifies a particular website. The slug is the part after the “/”, placed after the domain name and combined to form the permalink.

For example: dichvuseotongthe/blog/seo-la-gi then “seo-la-gi” is the slug.

Learn all about Slug URLs

>>Watch now: What is a URL ? Basic structure of a URL

Importance of Slugs for SEO

Slug is an important factor included in search engine rankings. When searching for keywords, users will read the slug first and then learn the website content.

Besides, a good slug can improve the user experience if it clearly states the content of the website. It helps readers understand what they are looking for, whether it is necessary to visit the website or not.

Slug optimization is essential for SEO. A good slug helps Google bots understand how to access your site and claim the content on it, and makes it easy for your readers to reach your site.

Sometimes you may see a website URL with a string of characters, letters, or numbers. These slugs can confuse users and they may hesitate before clicking. These types of slugs are not very reliable.

What are WordPress Slugs?

The WordPress Slug is the URL that takes you to your WordPress posts. When creating a new post, WordPress will automatically create it based on the settings in the Permalinks path configuration section.

To easily change the WordPress Slug go to Settings and select Permalinks to adjust.

Instructions on how to create a simple WordPress Slug

WordPress Slug can be created automatically or manually. Slug characters are separated by dashes and use only lowercase letters in Slug URLs..

When creating a WordPress Slug, these rules are applied automatically. As for creating Slugs manually, you need to follow this rule to avoid errors.

Here is how to create simple Wordpress Slug for Post, Website, Category and Tag, Author.

Create Slug for Content (Article)

Create a Slug for the article by moving the mouse over the gray area of ​​the Permalink under the article title and fill in the Slug content you want to put for the article.

WordPress will automatically save the edited Slug information. You just need to press the ok button to save the update.

Create Slug for Page (Page) – Website Slug

Setting up page slugs is as simple as post slugs. You just need to click on the Permalink URL section under the page name, then enter the Page Slug and click OK.

How to create Category and Tag Slug

WordPress will automatically generate Slug for new Category and Tag. However, users can manually create these two categories by creating categories first and editing later.

Instructions for installing Category Slug :

• Click on the Post/ Category item .
• Select the Category you want to edit the Slug and click Edit.
• Fill in the information in the Slug box and press the Update button to save.

How to create Tag Slug :

• Click on the Post / Tags item.
• Click Edit on the tag you want to change and select the Update button to save.

Create Author Slug

Author Slug is a Slug containing the author’s name, which is rarely used. The Slug paragraph has a specified length, so instead of using author Slug, SEOer prioritizes Keyword Slug .

Instructions on how to create Author Slug :

• Install the Edit Author Slug plugin, and set the plugin to Active state .
• Click on Users in the Edit Author Slug plugin
• Click All Users -> Click Edit Users and select Edit Author Slug .
• Click the Update User button to save.

Instructions on how to optimize Slug effectively for SEO

Slugs are very important for SEO, so optimization is essential. Check out the effective ways to optimize Slug for SEO below.

Use dashes (-)

Using hyphens between words in the slug makes it easier for users and search engines to identify concepts in the URL.

URLs are not allowed to have spaces because the browser will automatically turn spaces into percent characters.

Slug includes main keyword

Slug content should include the main keyword to help readers and search engines understand what the article is about. From there, increase the user experience and the website ranks high on the SERP.

Slug is short and full of meaning

Short and clear slugs not only make it easy for readers to understand what can be found on each page, but also help them remember the URL.

The concise slug also helps search engines understand the content. Therefore, the website will easily gain high rankings in the search engines.

Experts recommend an ideal URL slug length of 3-5 words.   Readers and search engines respond best to short slugs, and these lengths are also standard for search engines.

Therefore, when optimizing, it should be noted to create a concise, full-content Slug, focusing on the main keyword.

Slugs are too complex and contain many parameters that can affect crawlers. Googlebot may take more resources to crawl than necessary or may not be able to index the content on the site.

Avoid using words that do not bring search value

Focus on the main content, do not use words that do not bring search value such as: “and”, “is”, “of”, “to”,… You can use Yoast SEO plugin to check these errors.

Use redirects

WordPress Slug changes result in URL changes. Search engines won’t find content using the old URL. To create a new URL, you should use a 301 redirect to convert the old Slug to the new Slug.

Use lowercase letters

Please use lowercase letters in the slug because in some cases you may encounter duplicates if you use both uppercase and lowercase letters.

Remember that URL slugs must be permanent

Changing URLs can have an impact on SEO and users even if you use a redirect manager to ensure that people are coming to the correct URL.

So when you’re choosing a slug, make sure it still makes sense many years from now.

Slug duplicate situation and how to fix it

The best way to avoid duplicate slug

Each WordPress is unique, so users should be careful when choosing a Slug. The Slug overlap is mostly due to the wrong tag when writing articles or intentionally spamming keywords that adversely affect the website.

To avoid duplicate Slug do not use multiple tags for the article. If the Slug is duplicated, WordPress will report a 404 error forcing the user to change the tag or change the Slug.

How to fix the problem of duplicate Slug

If the post has a duplicate Slug, WordPress will number after each duplicate Slug. In case the website and article cannot be found, it can be fixed by:

• Delete post
• Rename tag
• Change WordPress path

In addition, you can use Google Search Console to block the Index for unimportant information or forward subpages to the main page.

How to Remove SubFolder Slugs on WordPress

Learn SubFolder’s Slug

When you install Wordpress, the Categories feature is already built-in on the default URL, which is domain/categories/category.

However, you can remove this section in a variety of ways. Please refer to the simplest and easiest way to do it below.

How to remove SubFolder’s Slug on Wordpress 

• Click on Advanced and click on Permalinks .
• Trong phần Change URLs -> Strip the category base (usually/category/) from the category URL,  nhấp vào  nút Remove.
• Click the Save button to update the changes.

Frequently asked questions about Slug URL

Is Slug a Search Engine Ranking Factor?

Google uses Slug as a factor in website ranking. So, if the URL slug is optimized and contains keywords, then Google will rank that site higher.

Why Is Changing URL Slug Bad For SEO?

Changing the Slug makes your site vulnerable to 404 errors and broken links, which means Google can’t index your site correctly.

Are 301 redirects good for SEO?

301 redirects are considered best practice in SEO. For SEO, 301 redirecting the HTTP response tells the browser and user that the original pages have been permanently moved to the destination URL.

Reference articles

>> What is SEO ? Overview of SEO knowledge that every SEOer needs to know
>>Check out the latest 21 Onpage SEO 
optimization standards
>>The role of links in Offpage SEO 
strategy

Above is all the information about what Slug is that every SEOer needs to know. Slug is really an indispensable and very important part of SEO. Therefore, optimize Slug in the most effective way to achieve the desired SEO results.