A URL slug is the exact part of a web address that comes after the domain name and identifies a specific page on a website. For example, in 'website.com/my-post', 'my-post' is the slug.

Why are dashes (-) better than underscores (_) for SEO?

Google treats a hyphen/dash (-) as a word separator, meaning 'seo-tools' is read as 'seo tools'. However, Google treats an underscore (_) as a word joiner, meaning 'seo_tools' is read as 'seotools', which can hurt search rankings.

Free SEO URL Slug Converter

Why URL Slugs Matter for SEO

A URL slug is the part of a web address that comes right after the domain name. For example, in www.yoursite.com/how-to-bake-a-cake, the slug is "how-to-bake-a-cake". Creating clean, readable slugs is one of the most fundamental yet overlooked aspects of On-Page SEO.

Good Slug

/best-running-shoes-2026

It is short, descriptive, uses hyphens to separate words, and includes the primary keyword. Humans and search engines can instantly understand what the page is about.

Bad Slug

/index.php?id=8472&cat=shoes

It contains random parameters, no keywords, and provides zero context. It looks spammy to users sharing the link and offers no SEO value to Google.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_)?

Google officially recommends using hyphens. Their crawler treats a hyphen as a space, meaning it reads "seo-tools" as "seo tools". It treats an underscore as a word joiner, reading "seo_tools" as "seotools".

Should I include stop words in my URL?

Generally, no. Words like "a", "an", "the", and "of" do not add SEO value and only make the URL unnecessarily long. It's best to delete them before finalizing your slug.

What happens to foreign characters?

Our converter automatically transliterates foreign characters into the standard English alphabet (e.g., 'ü' becomes 'u', 'ç' becomes 'c', 'é' becomes 'e'). This ensures your URL won't break when shared on social media.

Can I change a slug after publishing the page?

You can, but you must set up a 301 Redirect from the old slug to the new one. Otherwise, any existing backlinks will break, and visitors will hit a 404 Error page, hurting your SEO.