In Yoast SEO the slug refers to that part of the URL on which a page or post can be found on your website. Normally, in a structure of URL, it is the bit after the domain name and probably after any categories too.
Slug in Yoast SEO is one of the major things you are able to set up or edit for a post or page. It works in conjunction with defining the contents of the page to make it more understandable to search engines-like Google-what is on the web page to properly index and rank.
Why is Slug important in SEO?
The slug is very important for both Search Engine Optimization and user experience. Here’s why that matters:
1. Relevance to Keywords: The usage of relevant keywords in your slug will help search engines understand what your page is about, hence giving it a better ranking for those terms. Suppose, for example, that your content is about the best SEO practices; then, a slug like seo-best-practices will be much better than a generic slug post-12345.
2. Improved CTR: When the link shows up on search engine pages, they will know much more easily what is on your page if the slug is easily readable and clean.
3. User-Friendly URLs: Small and meaningful slugs provide user-friendly URLs that are easy to remember and share. They make it easy for people to find their way through your website to other related content.
4. Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Overusing keywords in the slug may raise suspicion by search engines as spammy. The slug should be short and target no more than one keyword instead of trying to fit a couple of keywords in the URL.
How to Edit Slug in Yoast SEO?
1.When Creating a New Post/Page
In Yoast SEO, the URL slug can be edited within WordPress directly from the editor when creating a new post or page. Immediately beneath the title on the edit screen of a post or page, it presents the permalink-the permanent link to your post or page. WordPress will automatically create the URL slug based on the post title, but you are able to edit it by clicking an “Edit” button that appears next to the permalink. It has to be short, descriptive, and related to your content. In slugs, do not use special characters like question marks, ampersands, or exclamation marks.
2. To the already created Posts/Pages
Open the post or page that you want to edit in the WordPress editor. Scroll down and locate the Yoast SEO meta box. You will realize that you can edit your URL under a field called Slug. Hence, you could edit it where necessary.
Slug Best Practices with Yoast SEO
Here is a set of best practices that one should keep in mind while optimizing slug for SEO:
1. Keep it Short and Descriptive: Your slug should be readable, separated by a hyphen, and ideally 3-5 words.
2. Use Target Keywords: Add in your target keyword naturally so that it relates better to search engines.
3. Avoid Stop Words: Refrain from using words that on their own are not going to offer the greatest value in respect of SEO, like “and,” “or,” “but,” “the,” and few others. With those, just exclude them in the slug.
4. Use Hyphens, Not Underscores: Search engines treat hyphens (-) in URLs as word separators, but they don’t apply the same treatments to underscores (_). To separate words in your slug, use only hyphens.
5. Keep it Lowercase: Slugs are case sensitive; thus, it is consistent and error-free to keep your slug all in lowercase.
6. Avoid Special Characters: Never use special characters like &, %, #, etc., as these lead to errors pertaining to SEO and user experience.
How to Check Slug Optimization in Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO has a number of tools that can be applied to optimize your content and slug.
1. Focus Keyphrase:
Yoast’s Focus Keyphrase tool shows where to optimize your target keyword in the slug. Yoast will go through your content to make sure that your keyphrase is in the slug, and that it actually appears in your content.
2. SEO Analysis:
The SEO analysis Yoast SEO gives you feedback to help you make improvements on the post/page. This checks such things as how you have applied the keyword/keyphrase, the readability of your writing, whether your keyphrase appears in the URL.
3. Readability Analysis:
Although this does not relate to the slug directly, Yoast’s readability analysis helps improve the general structure of your content that may affect the overall SEO ranking.
Common Slug Mistakes to Avoid
While using Yoast SEO, here are some common mistakes that occur with slugs:
1. Using Default Slugs:
WordPress often generates default slugs based on your title (e.g., post-123). These are not user-friendly or optimized for SEO, so it’s important to customize them.
2. Keyword Stuffing:
Using too many keywords within your slug does more harm to your SEO than good. Instead, use one primary keyword and fit it into the URL.
3. Too Long or Too Short:
Very long slugs are often hard to read; very short ones usually don’t provide context about what one can expect from the content. Strive for a balance.
4. Not Forwarding After Slug Changes:
Every time you change your slug, remember to set up the right forwarding for those links.
5. Avoid broken links/404’s:
Yoast does have a system to control the redirects of modified slugs and posts, for that matter, on Premium.
Conclusion
The slug in Yoast SEO is that critical part of your URL that plays a magic trick on your overall performance in Search engines. It will be helpful to your search engine ranking and for your user experience if the slug is concise, relevant, and well-filled with keywords. Keep the following tips and best practices in mind while writing great slugs. Using all the tools and features available with Yoast SEO, providing the best URL slugs in SEO-friendly manners will be truly easy for you.Contact Lets Rank Online for SEO projects and SEO consultations to take your online presence to the next level.