Slug
The part of a short link that follows the domain — the code that identifies which destination the link resolves to.
Updated August 14, 2026
The slug is everything after the domain in a short link. In go.brand.com/spring-sale the slug is spring-sale; in go.brand.com/x7Kp2 it is x7Kp2. It is also called the short code, the path or the alias, and it is the only part of the address that identifies which stored destination should be served.
Slugs come in two flavours. Generated ones are random strings, short and collision-free, and are what you want when the link is only ever clicked, never typed. Chosen ones are readable words used in print and in speech. Either way the slug must be unique on its domain, not across the platform: the same word can exist on two different branded domains and lead to two different pages.
Two practical points. A slug is part of the published address, so editing it creates a new link and retires the old one — change the destination instead when the address is already in circulation. And some paths are reserved by the platform for its own pages, so availability is checked before a link is saved rather than after.