Title and slug strategy
Learn SEO-friendly title and slug writing rules.
How do you write an SEO-friendly title?
The <title> element is the biggest factor in search results. Keep it between 50 and 60 characters; if you write longer, the end is cut with an ellipsis. Put the keyword first and the brand name at the end.
Example: Web Design Guide | Alex Blog. Write a unique title for every page; do not reuse the same title across pages. The title and meta description should not repeat the same text.
Slug strategy
The slug is the last part of a URL: like /blog/vegan-recipes. An SEO-friendly slug is short, lowercase, hyphen-separated and carries the keyword.
Do not use non-ASCII letters, spaces or uppercase: write vegan-recipes instead of MyRecipes. Very long slugs get trimmed by search engines; stay within 3 to 5 words.
Title and slug together
The title and slug work together. The title tells users and search engines what the page is about; the slug appears in the URL and builds trust before the click.
Short, clear slugs get more clicks on social media. Put the keyword at the start of the title; separate the brand name with a hyphen or a vertical bar. Example: SEO Guide | Alex Blog, slug: seo-guide.
Exercise Add title and meta description for a product page
Add two tags to the head for a product page: <title> (ending with the brand name, longer than 10 characters) and <meta name="description" content="..."> (product description, non-empty).
Show example solution
<head>
<title>Handmade Vegan Soap | Green Kitchen</title>
<meta name="description" content="Our handmade vegan soaps are made with natural oils. Kind to skin and planet.">
</head>Test yourself
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Match the title and slug tips
- Title length
- 50-60 characters
- Slug separator
- Hyphen (-)
- Slug letter
- Lowercase
- Brand name spot
- End of title
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Which title is best?
- Vegan Recipes | Green Kitchen
- Home
- Vegan Recipes Vegan Meals Vegan Recipes Vegan
- <title>
Show answer
Vegan Recipes | Green Kitchen — Correct. Keyword first, brand last; within 50-60 characters.
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Complete the slug
<a href="/blog/____">Vegan Recipes</a>Show answer
<a href="/blog/vegan-recipes">Vegan Recipes</a>