Sure, when writing or editing a post, you’ll notice a URL below the post title, and that the end of that URL is highlighted in yellow.
Click the yellow-highlighted portion of the URL below the title to edit just that part of the URL, which we refer to as the “Post Slug.”
So if I make my post title say something fun like “Spooktakular breakfast bites” I can then change the slug to be “bagels-cream cheese-breakfast-bites” and it won’t affect my post? I need to change before publishing though right?
Am I right in thinking this is the best thing to do for SEO versus allow the automatic slug that is simply a copy of the title (since my title is not descriptive)?? Or does it not matter for seo?
So if I make my post title say something fun like “Spooktakular breakfast bites” I can then change the slug to be “bagels-cream cheese-breakfast-bites” and it won’t affect my post?
Correct, the title and the slug can be as different as you want them to be.
I need to change before publishing though right?
You can change it after too, but the old URL won’t redirect to the changed URL, so it’s probably best to change it before publishing.
Am I right in thinking this is the best thing to do for SEO versus allow the automatic slug that is simply a copy of the title (since my title is not descriptive)?? Or does it not matter for seo?
It’s important to note that there has been no official word from anyone at Google or the other major search engines regarding this tactic, and there are no confirmed studies regarding its effectiveness.
There’s plenty of speculation, conjecture, and people who will charge you money to offer this “advice,” but that’s a whole other world not (yet) grounded in verified fact. 😉
Google for sure does not put any more weight on the URL than it does the content itself, so personally I’d recommend letting the slugs reflect the title and focusing your efforts on writing good quality content. 🙂
Got it. Thanks for the advice 🙂
