Hajra Naz
Gary Illyes, a Google analyst, has recently spotlighted a significant challenge for search engine crawlers: URL parameters.
In a recent episode of Google’s “Search Off The Record” podcast, Illyes discussed how URL parameters can generate an almost infinite number of URLs for a single page, leading to inefficiencies in crawling.
Illyes covered the technical details, SEO consequences, and possible solutions while reflecting on Google’s historical methods and hinting at future improvements. This information is particularly relevant for large e-commerce websites.
The Infinite URL Problem
Illyes elaborated on how URL parameters can create a seemingly endless number of URLs for a single page. He explained:
“Technically, you can add an almost infinite—well, de facto infinite—number of parameters to any URL, and the server will ignore those that don’t alter the response.”
This creates a challenge for search engine crawlers. Even if these URL variations lead to the same content, crawlers cannot determine this without visiting each URL, leading to inefficient use of crawl resources and potential indexing problems.
E-commerce Sites Most Affected
The issue is especially pronounced for e-commerce sites, which frequently use URL parameters to track, filter, and sort products. For example, a single product page might have numerous URL variations for colours, sizes, or referral sources.
Illyes noted:
“Because you can just add URL parameters to it… it also means that when you are crawling, and crawling in the proper sense like ‘following links,’ everything becomes much more complicated.”
Historical Context
For years, Google has been addressing this issue. Previously, Google provided a URL Parameters tool in Search Console to help webmasters specify which parameters were important and which could be disregarded. However, this tool was deprecated in 2022, raising concerns among SEOs about managing URL parameters effectively.
Potential Solutions
Although Illyes didn’t provide a definitive solution, he suggested some potential approaches:
- Algorithmic Improvements: Google is exploring ways to handle URL parameters more effectively, possibly by developing algorithms to identify redundant URLs.
- Clearer Communication: Illyes proposed that clearer guidelines for webmasters on managing URL structures could be helpful. “We could just tell them that, ‘Okay, use this method to block that URL space,'” he mentioned.
- Robots.txt: He also suggested that robots.txt files could be used more creatively to guide crawlers. “With robots.txt, it’s surprisingly flexible what you can do with it,” he said.
Implications for SEO
The discussion has several SEO implications:
- Crawl Budget: Proper management of URL parameters can help conserve the crawl budget, ensuring that essential pages are crawled and indexed efficiently.
- Site Architecture: Developers might need to rethink URL structures, especially for large e-commerce sites with many product variations.
- Faceted Navigation: E-commerce sites using faceted navigation should consider how this affects URL structure and crawlability.
- Canonical Tags: Implementing canonical tags can help Google identify the primary version of a page.
In Summary
Handling URL parameters continues to be a complex issue for search engines. While Google is working on improvements, site owners should actively monitor their URL structures and use available tools to guide crawlers.
