Should I use hyphens (-) or underscores (_) in URL slugs for SEO?

Google's official URL structure documentation explicitly recommends using hyphens (-) rather than underscores (_). Search engines treat hyphens as word separators (so 'url-slug-generator' is read as three separate words), whereas underscores join words into a single token ('url_slug_generator').

Should I remove stop words from my URL slug?

Yes, removing common filler words like 'a', 'the', 'and', 'in', 'to', and 'for' keeps your URL slug concise, keyword-focused, and under the recommended 60-character threshold without sacrificing readability.

Can I convert multiple titles into URL slugs at the same time?

Yes! Simply paste multiple titles into the input box—one title per line—and the converter will generate a matching list of clean URL slugs line by line in real time.

What is the ideal length for an SEO-friendly URL slug?

For optimal SEO and readability in search results, aim for 3 to 5 target words or fewer than 60 characters. You can check 'Limit slug length' to automatically truncate long titles at the nearest complete word boundary.

URL Slug Generator Online – Free SEO Permalink & Text to Slug Tool

Transform article headlines, product names, and bulk title lists into clean, human-readable, SEO-friendly URL slugs in real time. Built for bloggers, SEO specialists, and web developers working with WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Next.js, or Astro—complete with one-click stop word removal, Unicode accent transliteration (é → e, ß → ss), and a live search result URL preview.

Text / Title Input (1 per line for bulk mode)

Quick Presets:

Slugs: 0

Words: 0

Characters: 0

SERP Preview: https://example.com/your-seo-friendly-slug

Ready

Result (Generated URL Slugs)

Separator & Case Style

Word Separator:

Case Style:

SEO & Character Cleanup

Remove SEO stop words Strips common filler words (a, an, the, and, in, on, to, for, with) for concise permalinks.

Convert symbols to words (& → and) Converts & to and, @ to at, and % to percent before stripping punctuation.

Transliterate accents (é → e, ß → ss) Normalizes diacritics and Latin ligatures (æ, œ, ø, ł) into ASCII letters.

Remove special characters Strips punctuation, emojis, and unsafe URL symbols (?!#()*).

Remove numbers & years Strips digits (e.g., 2026 or list numbers) to create evergreen URLs.

Limit maximum slug length

Max characters:

Cuts cleanly at the nearest complete word boundary (60 chars recommended for SEO).

Domain Prefix & URL Path

Add custom domain prefix

Add trailing slash (/) Appends a directory-style forward slash at the end of each slug.

How to Generate SEO-Friendly URL Slugs Online

Enter Your Headline or Bulk List: Type a page title into the Text / Title Input box, paste dozens of titles (one per line) for bulk slug creation, or click Load Sample Titles to test right away.
Apply an SEO Preset or Customize Rules: Click SEO Best Practice to automatically enable lowercase hyphens, stop-word removal, symbol transliteration, and a 60-character limit—or toggle individual options in the right-hand panel.
Inspect the Live SERP URL Preview: Check the green SERP Preview bar and length badge to verify your slug is concise, readable, and won't be truncated in search results.
Copy or Export: Click Copy to Clipboard to paste your permalink directly into WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, or Webflow, or click Download .txt to save bulk slugs as a text file.

Before & After URL Slug Transformation Examples

See how different titles, accents, symbols, and filler words are cleaned under standard and SEO-optimized presets:

Original Title / Input Text	Standard CMS Slug	SEO Best Practice (No Stop Words & Evergreen)
`10 Best SEO Tips for Bloggers in 2026!`	`10-best-seo-tips-for-bloggers-in-2026`	`best-seo-tips-bloggers`
`Beginner's Guide to Café & Résumé Design`	`beginners-guide-to-cafe-and-resume-design`	`beginners-guide-cafe-resume-design`
`How to Configure Straße & Øresund Routes`	`how-to-configure-strasse-and-oresund-routes`	`configure-strasse-oresund-routes`
`What Is a URL Slug? (Complete Overview)`	`what-is-a-url-slug-complete-overview`	`url-slug-complete-overview`

SEO Best Practices for URL Slugs (Google Guidelines)

Always Use Hyphens (-), Not Underscores (_): Google's official search documentation states that hyphens are treated as word separators, whereas underscores join words together. Use /url-slug-generator instead of /url_slug_generator.
Stick to Lowercase Letters: Web servers (especially Linux/Nginx/Apache) can treat /Blog-Post and /blog-post as two different URLs, leading to duplicate content issues or 404 errors.
Keep Slugs Concise (3–5 Words / Under 60 Characters): Shorter URLs are easier for users to read, share on social media, and display fully in Google SERP breadcrumbs without ellipsis truncation.
Remove Stop Words & Years for Evergreen Content: Stripping filler words (a, the, in, of, with) and years (like 2026) allows you to update your article year after year without needing 301 redirects.
Transliterate Accents & Special Characters: Converting accented characters (é → e, ü → u, ß → ss) avoids ugly percent-encoding (like %C3%A9) when links are copied and pasted into emails, chat apps, or markdown documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a URL slug?

A URL slug is the human-readable part of a web address that comes after the domain name and identifies a specific page—for example, in https://tools.irvantaufik.me/tools/url-slug-generator.html, the slug is url-slug-generator. A well-crafted slug tells both users and search engines what the page is about.

Why are hyphens (-) better than underscores (_) in URLs?

Search engines like Google parse hyphens as spaces between words, allowing each keyword in seo-url-slug to be indexed individually. Underscores are treated as word connectors, meaning seo_url_slug is interpreted as a single combined string. Reserve underscores for file names or variable identifiers.

How does "Remove SEO stop words" handle titles made entirely of stop words?

Our generator includes a built-in safety fallback: if an input phrase consists exclusively of stop words (such as "To Be or Not to Be"), it automatically preserves the words rather than returning an empty string.

Can I generate slugs for multiple blog posts or products in bulk?

Yes! Enter or paste as many titles as you need into the input box—putting each title on a new line. Every line is converted independently with your chosen separator, case style, length limit, and optional domain prefix.

How to Generate SEO-Friendly URL Slugs Online

Before & After URL Slug Transformation Examples

SEO Best Practices for URL Slugs (Google Guidelines)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related SEO, URL & Text Formatting Tools