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Glossary · On-page & content

URL slug

Also called permalink, slug

Reviewed 31 Oct 2026 By Madiha Fatima 3 min read Check it yourself: yes, free

3 min
Definition

A URL slug is the last part of a web address, the piece after the final slash that names the page. In yoursite.com/services/emergency-plumbing/ the slug is emergency-plumbing. Search engines read it as a small clue to what the page is about, and people read it in results and in shared links to decide whether to click.

Good slugs are short, lowercase, hyphenated and made of the words a person would search. Changing a slug changes the address, so every change needs a redirect from the old one.

Short version: the readable end of the address, and the first word Google reads.
Why it matters for your business

An address people can read
is an address people click.

The slug is the smallest piece of on-page SEO and one of the most visible. It shows in search results under the title, in the link preview when someone shares the page and in the browser bar when they arrive. A slug that says /emergency-plumbing/ promises exactly what the page is. A slug that says /page-id-2291/ or /services-3/ promises nothing and looks like nobody is minding the site.

It also matters for the long run. Slugs set at launch tend to last for years, and every link anyone ever builds to the page carries them. A tidy structure such as /services/, /locations/ and /blog/ makes the site easier to understand for Google and easier to extend for you. A proposal for a new site should say what the address structure will be and how the old addresses will be redirected.

Example

One product, two addresses,
and only one of them says what it is.

What the store owner sees

A Shopify store imported its catalogue from a spreadsheet. Every product landed with the supplier's reference as its handle. The products look fine on the page and the owner never looks at the address bar.

/products/sku-88213-a /products/sku-88214-b /products/sku-88215-a
What Google sees

Addresses that say nothing about the product, shown under every result and in every shared link. Changing the handles to /products/sage-linen-apron and /products/oak-serving-board gives Google a hint and gives shoppers a reason to click. Shopify can add the redirect from the old handle automatically when you rename, as long as the box is ticked.

How to check it on your site

Four checks, all free.

Tick each one as you go. 0 of 4 checked on your site.

  1. Read your own addresses

    Open your main service or product pages and look at the address bar. A good slug is a few readable words with hyphens. A bad one has numbers, dates that no longer apply, ?p= or ?id=, capital letters or words joined with underscores.

  2. Search for your site and look under the titles

    Search site:yourdomain.com and read the green or grey address line under each result. That is what searchers see. Any address you would not want to say aloud is one worth cleaning up, with a redirect.

  3. Check the permalink setting

    In WordPress, open Settings and then Permalinks. Post name is the setting you want. Plain or Numeric produces addresses with IDs in them. On Shopify, open a product and look at the Search engine listing section to edit the handle.

  4. Confirm old addresses still work after a rename

    If you have ever changed a slug, type the old version into the browser. It should forward to the new page. If it shows a 404 error, that is a redirect to add, and any links or rankings the old address had are waiting on it.

Related terms

Usually in the same sentence.

Read next

Where this shows up in practice.

Pricing & transparency How to evaluate a website quote

Address structure and redirects should be stated in a quote. Here is what to look for.

 Shopify What a Shopify website costs

Product handles and collection structure are part of a proper store setup, and this is what that setup includes.

 Service Web design & development

Every site we build gets a planned address structure and a redirect map before launch.
Related service

Address structure is planned before build in the web design service and existing slugs are reviewed in the on-page phase of the SEO service. Prices are on the price list, not on a call.

See the SEO service
Reviewed by Madiha Fatima, founder of 99creatix

Every entry in this glossary is written and checked by the person who runs the agency, reviewed at least once a quarter and dated. Last reviewed 31 October 2026.

Spotted an error or a term we are missing? Tell us and it is fixed within the week.

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Next step

Addresses nobody
would type?

Fifteen minutes with your website. We will show you which addresses are working against you, which to leave alone and how to rename safely without losing a single ranking, before you decide anything.

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