SEO URL Slug Generator
Turn a title into a clean URL slug using the rules Google actually documents, not just a generic string converter. Paste one title or a whole list, and it flags the problems as it goes.
Stop word removal and the word limit are conventions rather than Google rules. Google documents the preference for readable words over ID numbers, hyphens rather than underscores, consistent casing, and percent encoding for non-ASCII characters. Everything else here is judgement, which is why each option can be switched off.
What Google actually documents
Four of the rules this tool applies come straight from Google’s own documentation rather than from SEO folklore.
- Readable words, not ID numbers. Google says: “When possible, use readable words rather than long ID numbers in your URLs.”
- Hyphens, not underscores. Google prefers hyphens and says underscores are not recommended, for historical reasons.
- Consistent case. URLs are case sensitive, so even when your server treats variations the same, you should use one style. Lowercase is the safe default.
- Percent encoding for non-ASCII. Non-ASCII characters must be percent encoded, which is why an accented slug can end up as an unreadable string of symbols.
Source: Google Search Central. Notice what is absent: Google does not say shorter URLs rank better, and it does not say keywords in URLs are a ranking factor.
Stop words are a convention, not a rule
Removing words like a, the, for and to is standard practice, and it is worth being honest that this is tidiness rather than a documented ranking benefit.
The real argument for it is readability and length. “how-to-create-an-seo-strategy-in-2026-the-complete-guide” is harder to scan and gets truncated more often than “seo-strategy-guide”.
The argument against is meaning. Strip too aggressively and you get slugs that no longer say what the page is. “how-to-rank” and “rank” are not the same promise. That is why the word limit is adjustable rather than fixed.
Why dates in slugs cause trouble
A year in the URL looks stale the moment the year changes, and it stays wrong even after you update the page.
You then have two bad options. Leave it, and every visitor sees 2024 in the address of an article you refreshed last week. Or change it, which means a redirect, and losing some of what the old URL had earned.
Keep the year in the title where you can edit it freely, and leave it out of the slug. The tool strips years by default for exactly this reason.
Changing a slug on a page that already exists
This tool is for pages you have not published yet. Changing the slug of a live page is a different decision and usually the wrong one.
Every link anyone has made, every ranking, and the page’s history in Search Console are attached to the old address. A tidier slug is a small gain against that.
If you genuinely must, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one before anything else, keep it permanently, and update your own internal links so they point at the new address directly rather than through the redirect. It belongs with the rest of your technical SEO checklist.
On WordPress
WordPress builds the slug from your title automatically, which is how long headlines become long URLs. The slug field sits under the title in the editor and is editable before you publish, which is the moment to shorten it.
Check your permalink setting too. Settings then Permalinks, with Post name selected, gives you a clean address. The Day and name option bakes a date into every URL, which creates the problem described above across your whole site at once.
Frequently asked questions
What is a URL slug?
The slug is the readable part of a URL that identifies a single page, the bit after your domain and any folders. In https://example.com/seo-strategy-guide/ the slug is seo-strategy-guide. It is usually generated from the page title and is worth editing before you publish, because changing it afterwards means setting up a redirect.
Should I use hyphens or underscores in a slug?
Hyphens. Google states a preference for hyphens and says underscores are not recommended, for historical reasons. This is one of the few URL conventions Google is explicit about rather than leaving to inference, so it is worth following exactly.
Should I remove stop words from slugs?
Usually, but it is a convention rather than a documented ranking factor. The genuine benefits are readability and length, since shorter slugs are easier to scan and get truncated less. Stop before the slug loses its meaning, because a slug that no longer says what the page is about has been shortened too far.
How long should a URL slug be?
Short enough to read at a glance and long enough to still describe the page, which in practice is usually three to six meaningful words. Google does not publish a length rule and does not say shorter URLs rank better. Treat length as a readability decision rather than an optimisation.
Can I put a year in the slug?
You can, and it creates a problem every January. The URL looks out of date as soon as the year turns, and it stays wrong even after you refresh the content, because fixing it means changing the URL and setting up a redirect. Keep the year in the title, where you can edit it freely, and leave it out of the slug.
Is it safe to change the slug of a published page?
Usually not worth it. Every existing link, ranking and piece of Search Console history is attached to the old address, and a tidier slug is a small gain against that risk. If you must, put a 301 redirect in place from the old URL to the new one, keep it permanently, and update your internal links to point at the new address directly.
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored. The documented rules it applies come from Google Search Central's guidance on URL structure; the stop word and length options are conventions, and can be switched off.