Which is The Best Way to Handle Query Parameters?
-
Hi mozzers,
I would like to know the best way to handle query parameters.
Say my site is example.com. Here are two scenarios.
Scenario #1: Duplicate content
example.com/category?page=1
example.com/category?order=updated_at+DESC
example.com/category
example.com/category?page=1&sr=blog-headerAll have the same content.
Scenario #2: Pagination
example.com/category?page=1
example.com/category?page=2 and so on.What is the best way to solve both?
Do I need to use Rel=next and Rel=prev or is it better to use Google Webmaster tools parameter handling? Right now I am concerned about Google traffic only.
For solving the duplicate content issue, do we need to use canonical tags on each such URL's?
I am not using WordPress. My site is built on Ruby on Rails platform.
Thanks!
-
The new pagination advice is really tough to navigate. I have mixed feelings about rel=prev/next (hard to implement, doesn't work on Bing, etc.) but it seems generally reliable. If you have pagination AND parameters that impact pagination (like sorts), then you need to use prev/next and canonical tags. See the post Alan cited.
I actually do think NOINDEX works fine in many cases, if the paginated search (pages 2+) have little or no search value. It really depends on the situation and the scope, though. This can range from no big deal at all to a huge problem, depending on the site in question, so it's tough to give general advice.
I'm not having great luck with GWT parameter handling lately (as Alan said), especially on big sites. It just doesn't seem to work in certain situations, and I have no idea why Google ignores some settings and honors others. That one's driving me crazy, actually. It's easy to set up and you can try it, but I wouldn't count on it working.
-
no dont de-index them, just use prev next,
yes you are right it is only for google, i really can not give you an answer as what to do for both, you could use canonical for bing only. its a hard one
see this page, for more info http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/pagination-with-relnext-and-relprev.html
-
Which do you think is ideal?
De-Indexing Pages 2+ or simply using the rel=next, rel=prev? That's also only for Google right?
-
For the first senario use a canonical tag.
for the second use the prev next tags, this to google will make page one look like one big page with all the content of all the pages on it.
dont use parrametter handing, it is a last resort, it is only for google (though bing has its own), and its effectiveness has been questioned.
-
The problem is that we are talking about thousands of pages and manually doing it is close to impossible. Even if it can be engineered, it will take a lot of time. Unless Webmaster tools cannot effectively handle this situation, it doesn't make sense to go and change the site code.
-
Hi Mohit,
Seems like a waste of time to me when you can put a simple meta tag in there.
-
How about using parameter handling using Google Webmaster tools to ignore ?page=1, ?order=updated_at+DESC and so on. Does that work instead of including canonical tags on all such pages?
-
I can speak to the first scenario, that is exactly what the purpose of the rel="canonical" is for. Dynamic pages in which have a purpose for url appendages.Or in the rare case where you can't control your server (.httaccess) for 301 redirects.
As for pagination, I may not have the best answer as I have also been using rel="canonical" in those cases as well.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Webmaster Tools Search Queries Data Drop
Hi I'm seeing a significant drop in search queries being reported for a client in GWT starting on the 7th Feb. I have seen a few articles on SERound Table etc saying that many are reporting probs like delays etc with GWT updating its data, such as these ones: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-webmaster-tools-data-stalled-19854.html https://www.seroundtable.com/google-webmaster-tools-analytics-data-19870.html However these seem to suggest the problem is simply a delay with displayed data being updated, in the case im looking at the data is up to date but showing an increasing decline. When i look at Analytics data though the data is completely different. For exmaple GWT says on the 21st Feb there were 23 impressions with zero clicks but Analytics says there were 6 clicks/sessions from organic search. I take it this means that there is a likely problem with GWT data and I shouldn't worry ? All Best Dan
Technical SEO | | Dan-Lawrence0 -
Product page Canonicalization best practice
I'm getting duplicate content errors in GWT for product list pages that look like this: -www.example.com/category-page/product
Technical SEO | | IceIcebaby
-www.example.com/category-page/product/?p=2 The "p=2" example already has a rel=canonical in place, " Shouldn't the non-canonical pages be using the canonical attribute for the first page rather than the additional product pages? Thanks!0 -
Best Schema Advice
Hi, I am new here and I have searched for but not got a definitive answer for this. I am sorting out a website which is a scaffolding company operating in a particular area. They are only interested in targeting a particular area and from what I have read through here I need to mark the site up with schema mentioning their company name and address. My issue is that I seem to find lots of conflicting advice about what should go it and how it should be laid out. I would love to know peoples opinions on where the best guide for setting up schema correctly for a site like this. They use wordpress, I am ok with inserting code to the site etc, I just want to make sure I get it right from the start. Once I have done this, I understand that I need to get local citations using the same NAP as how the site is marked up. Sorry for what might seem like a daft question but I am a designer and I am still learning the ins and outs of SEO. Thanks
Technical SEO | | kirstyseo0 -
Advice urgently needed on best practice for handling multiple product categories on Magento website
I have an ecommerce site built using Magento and urgently need advice on best practice for handling multiple product categories (where products appear in more than one category on the site creating multiple URLs to the same page). In April this year, based on advice from my SEO who felt that duplicate content issues were causing my rankings to be held back, I changed about 25% of the product categories to 'noindex, follow'. This has made organic traffic fall (obviously) as these pages fell out of Google's index. But, contrary to what I was hoping for, it didn't then improve rankings - not one iota, nothing - which was the ONLY reason why I did this. This has had a real negative impact on sales, so I'm starting to think this was actually an a terrible idea. Should I change them back? And to ask a wider question, what is best practice for this particular scenario?
Technical SEO | | Coraltoes770 -
What is the best way of inserting keywords into a social networking site
We have a social networking site called Yookos (www.yookos.com). As per the norm, many of the pages of the site carry user generated content and can only be accessed by the users themselves. i created a keyword list that our technical person the uploaded onto the site but SEOmoz shows that these keywords cannot be picked up.
Technical SEO | | seoworx123
What is the best way to make sure that our site is also picked up via search engine searches.0 -
How to set Home page for the best effect
My head is spinning with all the confusing possibilities. Does anybody have an easy answer for setting up the home page and its canonical-ishness ie Which gives the best SEO Mojo ? \ \default.aspx \keyword\ \keyword\default.aspx Thanking you in advance for reducing the number of business migranes around the globe.
Technical SEO | | blinkybill0 -
What's the best way to solve this sites duplicate content issues?
Hi, The site is www.expressgolf.co.uk and is an e-commerce website with lots of categories and brands. I'm trying to achieve one single unique URL for each category / brand page to avoid duplicate content and to get the correct URL's indexed. Currently it looks like this... Main URL http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green Different Versions http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/ http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/1 http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/2 http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/3 http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/4 http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/all http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/1/ http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/2/ http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/3/ http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/4/ http://www.expressgolf.co.uk/shop/clothing/galvin-green/all/ Firstly, what is the best course of action to make all versions point to the main URL and keep them from being indexed - Canonical Tag, NOINDEX or block them in robots? Secondly, do I just need to 301 the (/) from all URL's to the non (/) URL's ? I'm sure this question has been answered but I was having trouble coming to a solution for this one site. Cheers, Paul
Technical SEO | | paulmalin0 -
Q Parameters
I'm having several site issues and I want to see if the Q parameter in the URL is the issue. Both of these index. Any capitalization combination brings up another indexed page: http://www.website.com/index.php?q=contact-us. and http://www.website.com/index.php?q=cOntact-us The other issue is Google crawl errors. The website has received increasingly more spam crawl errors. I've read that this is a common issue and most likely is a Google Bot problem. Would removing the q parameter fix this entirely? Here is an example: http://www.website/index.php?q=uk-cheap-chloe-bay-bag-wholesale-shoes
Technical SEO | | DanSpeicher0