A slug in WordPress : what is it and how can I optimize it ?

If you manage a website via WordPress, you may be familiar with the term “slug”. It’s a key component ofyour page’s URL, essential for both SEO and user experience. A slug is the text fragment following the domain name in the URL, such as “my-first-article” in “www.yourwebsite.com/blog/my-first-article”. It uniquely identifies each page, making content more accessible to search engines and visitors alike. This article will guide you through the importance of the slug in WordPress, its impact on SEO and the improvement of the user experience.

Definition and role of the slug in WordPress

What is a slug?

A slug in WordPress is the portion of text that follows the domain name in theURL of a page. It serves as a unique text identifier for each publication, whether it’s an article, a page or custom content. WordPress generates a slug automatically from the title of your content, but you can also modify it manually to better suit your needs.

How do slugs affect SEO and user experience?

Slugs have a significant impact on your site’s SEO and user experience. An optimized slug, containing relevant keywords, makes your page easier for search engines to understand, improving your site’s SEO and visibility in search results.

In terms of user experience, an explicit, descriptive slug lets visitors know what to expect even before they visit the page. This makes the URL more legible and easier to remember, improving site navigation and accessibility.

Relationship between slug, URL and permalink

Slugs are intrinsically linked to URLs and permalinks on a WordPress site. Permalinks determine the complete structure of the URL and specify the location of the slug within it. If your permalinks include the title of the publication, the slug will appear at the end of the URL, making your content easily identifiable.

Modifying a slug requires special care to avoid disrupting existing links. WordPress handles redirects automatically, but it’s essential to ensure link consistency to ensure smooth navigation and maintain site SEO.

How to set up effective slugs in WordPress

Configuring slugs when creating a post or page

When you create a new post or page in WordPress, it’s possible to customize the slug manually by following a few simple steps.

Start by saving your post or page as a draft. Then click on the title area to reveal the permalink area with an edit icon.

Click on this icon to modify the URL slug. Once you’ve adjusted the slug to your liking, click on « Save ». Don’t forget to publish or update your post or page when finished.

Best practices for naming a slug

To ensure that your slugs are optimized and more SEO-friendly, it’s important to follow certain best practices. Here are a few essential tips:

• Use lowercase letters and hyphens: WordPress will automatically convert spaces to hyphens and uppercase letters to lowercase, which promotes consistency and better URL readability.
• Avoid dates: Dates in slugs can quickly give the impression of outdated content. Instead, use relevant, descriptive keywords.
• Keep them short and descriptive: Concise, self-explanatory slugs are easier to read and remember. They should contain the main keywords you’re targeting to boost your SEO.
• Avoid prepositions and articles: Words such as « de », « le », « la », etc., are not very useful for SEO. It’s best to exclude them to make your slugs more direct.

Using slugs for categories and tags

Slugs can also be customized for categories and tags, not just for posts and pages.

To edit a category or tag slug, go to Posts → Categories or Posts → Tags from your WordPress dashboard. Find the category or tag you want to modify, hover over it, then click the Edit button.

Enter the new slug and click Update to apply the changes.

Optimizing slugs for better SEO

Incorporation of strategic keywords

Incorporating strategic keywords into your WordPress site ‘s slugs is essential for improving your SEO. These targeted keywords strengthen your SEO by enabling search engines to better understand and index the content of your page. For example, for an article on the « best hosting providers », an ideal slug would be « www.yourwebsite.com/best-suppliers-hosting ».

The ideal length of a slug

It’s vital to keep slugs short and to the point. Slugs that are too long can be truncated in search results previews, damaging the user experience and reducing the chances of clicks. A short, descriptive slug that’s easy to read and remember improves readability and comprehension for both users and search engines. For example, an article title such as « World Photography Day 2022: 4 Lessons From Photographers On How They Went Pro » can be simplified to « world-photography-day ».

Avoiding duplication and managing slug modifications

Avoiding slug duplication is essential to avoid compromising your site’s URL structure. Having two pages or articles with the same slug can confuse both search engines and users. Modifying a slug after publication without setting up redirects can cause 404 errors. Use 301 redirects to redirect traffic from the old URL to the new one. Plugins such as SEOKEY or Redirection can help you manage these redirects.

Impact of slugs on search engine ranking

Optimized slugs play an essential role in your site’s search engine ranking. By integrating relevant keywords and keeping slugs short and to the point, you increase the visibility of your content and your chances of higher search engine rankings. Search engines use slugs to analyze the content of your pages and assess their relevance to search queries, making slug optimization an effective strategy for improving your positioning in the SERPs and increasing traffic to your site.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, slugs are essential for SEO optimization and improving the user experience on your WordPress site. It’s important to configure them carefully, making sure they’re short, descriptive and contain relevant keywords. Avoid unnecessary words, special characters and repetition, while ensuring consistency with your permalinks and URL structure.

By fine-tuning your slugs, you’ll boost the visibility of your content in search engines, make it easier for users to understand the content of your page, and improve your SEO. Don’t delay in customizing your slugs to see a clear improvement in SEO and user experience on your site.