How to Write SEO-Friendly URL Slugs - Rules & Examples

🐌Free URL Slug Generator
Turn titles into clean, SEO-friendly URL slugs.Open tool →

Rules of thumb

Lowercase only, words separated by hyphens, include the main keyword, keep it short (3-5 words), and avoid dates, special characters and filler words.

Examples

Better: /emergency-plumber-austin/ instead of /services/page-id=27/. Better: /how-to-reduce-image-size/ instead of /10-best-ways-to-reduce-the-size-of-your-images-in-2026/.

Generate them in bulk

Paste titles into the Slug Generator – it removes accents and symbols, optionally drops stop words, and trims to a maximum length.

Changing existing URLs

Don't change slugs on pages that already rank unless necessary. If you do, add a 301 redirect from the old URL and update internal links.

Frequently asked questions

Hyphens or underscores?

Hyphens – Google treats them as word separators.

Should I include the year?

Only for genuinely time-specific content.

How long should a slug be?

Short enough to read at a glance – usually under 60 characters.