A URL slug is the part of the web address that comes after your domain. For an article about your packet’s topic, the URL might be:
https://yourcompany.com/blog/topic-keyword-industry-context-guide
The slug is the bolded section: topic-keyword-industry-context-guide.
Your Complete Deployment Packet provides a slug in the SECTION 2: METADATA block of each article’s 1_README.pdf. Why ours look the way they do:
- Short — long slugs get truncated in social previews and look junky in links.
- Lowercase, hyphenated — universal across all CMSes, friendly for search engines.
- Keyword-front-loaded — the most-searched terms appear first.
- No stop words ("the", "a", "of") — they don't help search and just add length.
Where to set the slug by CMS:
- WordPress: in the right sidebar → Permalink → URL Slug. Edit there.
- Squarespace: post Settings → URL Slug.
- Webflow: post Settings → CMS → Slug field.
- Wix: post → SEO basics → URL Slug.
- HubSpot: post Settings → URL → Page URL.
Important: don't change the slug after publishing. If you do, every existing link to that article breaks. If you really must change it (typo, rebranding), set up a 301 redirect from the old slug to the new one.
Common URL slug issues:
- “Slug already exists” or slug got auto-appended with -2 — your CMS thinks that slug is already in use somewhere. Check drafts and trash. If the old one is real, use a slightly different slug or delete the duplicate.
- Spaces or capitals appearing after paste — some CMSes preserve original casing. Manually rewrite the slug in lowercase with hyphens (no underscores, no spaces).
- WordPress keeps rewriting my slug when I edit the title — WP auto-syncs slug to title until you edit the slug field manually. Type the slug you want directly into the Permalink field, then it stops overwriting.
- Should I include my company name in the slug? — no. Your domain is already there. Use the slug for the searchable keywords instead.
Still stuck? Email us at contact@contentmatterslabs.com with your CMS and a screenshot. We’ll email you back within one business day with the answer.