Why an inconspicuous URL component determines whether your content is found.

🔍 A term that almost nobody knows - but everyone uses

If you ask website operators, marketing experts or SMEs about SEO, the usual topics come up: Keywords, backlinks, loading time, content, structure, indexing.

But almost everyone overlooks one small element - even though it exists on every single page and has a massive impact on how well you perform on Google: the slug.

The slug is the readable part of a URL that comes after the domain. Example:

example.com/blog/data-security-tips

The slug reads:

data-security-tips

A detail that sounds trivial - but has gigantic effects.

💡 Why doesn't anyone talk about it?

It's simple: slugs are boring, or at least that's what many people think.

But a slug:

• one of the first signals that Google sees
• a ranking factor
• decisive for the click rate
• a user trust element
• and even a recognition feature of your brand

Most websites have it generated automatically - often badly.

And this is where the problem begins.

🚨 What happens if the slug is bad?

A bad slug happens faster than you think:

• Umlauts are not converted
• Special characters break the URL
• Columns of numbers without meaning
• Redundant words such as "article", "post", "page123"
• or meaningless defaults like /?p=3819

The result?

• Google understands the topic less well
• Users click less
• the page appears inferior
• Social media links appear unprofessional
• and content loses measurable reach

🚀 The slug is the secret SEO accelerator

Set correctly, a slug can:

✨ Increase relevance
✨ Increase click rates
✨ Clearly signal topics
✨ Improve readability
✨ Generate user trust
✨ Avoid duplicate content
✨ S tructure internationalization

🧱 What does a perfect slug look like?

Short, precise, readable, without special characters.

Examples:

• time management tips
• data-backup-windows-11
• backup-software-comparison
• iso-27001-backup-guide

Rules that almost nobody knows:

1. Lowercase letters
2. Hyphens instead of spaces
3. Convert umlauts correctly (ä → ae)
4. No filler words ("and", "the", "with"...)
5. No stop words
6. Only one main keyword - maximum two
7. No date (this makes content artificially old)

🌍 Slugs on international websites

This is where real expert knowledge comes in:

Slugs should be language-specific so that each language version gets maximum SEO power.

Example:

99% of sites use the same slug for all languages - giving away international rankings.

🧪 How to test whether your slugs are working

1. google the slug directly

Enter:

site:yourdomain.com your-slug

→ Does your page appear at the top?
→ Does Google immediately understand the topic?

2. check CTR in Search Console

Bad slugs → low CTR.
Good slugs → more clicks with the same ranking

3. look at the URL alone

Imagine you only see the URL, not the title. Would you click?

Slug: An inconspicuous element with great SEO influence

The slug is one of the most hidden, underestimated and yet powerful SEO levers that you can improve immediately. Understanding slugs gives you a competitive advantage that almost no one uses.

🔧 Mini checklist for the perfect slug

• Lowercase letters only
• Umlauts converted (ä → ae, ö → oe, ü → ue, ß → ss)
• Topic in a maximum of 2 keywords
• No filler words
• No numbers or IDs
• No special characters
• No double hyphens
• Limit to 3-5 words