If you want to know what a slug is in WordPress, take a peek up at the top of this blog. See the URL? It should say “wp-glogin.com/2020/12/optimize-what-slug-wordpress” in the URL bar. That’s this blog’s particular web address, as you know.

But this section of the URL — /optimize-what-slug-wordpress/ — is called the “slug,” and it’s not just for organizational purposes, though it certainly is good for that as well. No, your slug is so important in WordPress because it has a huge effect on your SEO optimization and how Google (and other search engines) grade your site.

We’re going to walk you through why slugs are so important, why you can’t ignore them, and how to optimize the slug of each post and page to maximize your discoverability.