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
-
How to handle Moz reported Spam external links
I have noticed Spam external links linking to my website. I do not know who has handled these spam external links to my website. It looks like a Spam SEO my competitors did on my website. I believe my site was penalized by google with those spam link and lost it's visibility in search . How do I get rid off SPAM external links now?
Technical SEO | | LIVEASISSTINFO0 -
How is IT handling multi-page search results for this url?
How is the IT team handling multi-page results? The URL is the same - with out any parameters, but the content changes. Is this best way to handle it from an SEO perspective?
Technical SEO | | S.S.N0 -
How do I handle soft 404s on category pages?
I have a site that provides a service where listings are displayed on site for 30 days, then they expire. These listings are categorized by type. On occasion, categories have no listings available, and Google Webmaster Tools is listing them as Soft 404 errors. It's not possible to remove these categories and 301 redirect to another page. Any suggestions on how to work around the soft 404s?
Technical SEO | | ang0 -
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 -
Help! Same page with multiple urls. How is this handled?
I'm using DotNetNuke for many of our sites. DotNetNuke's home page can have multiple VALID URLs that go to the same home page. Example: http://aviation-sms.com http://www.aviation-sms.com http://aviation-sms.com/default.aspx http://www.aviation-sms.com/default.aspx and http://aviation-sms.com/aviationSMS.aspx http://www.aviation-sms.com/aviationSMS.aspx All the above URLs have the same content. In the page header tag, I have: Should I be doing something else? such as removing the "default.aspx"??? I have a blog also that has a boatload of pages. I tried this canonical approach, but I'm not sure SEO Moz likes it and the tool offers me little guidance on this issue.
Technical SEO | | manintights280 -
Best XML Sitemap Generator for Mac?
Hi all, Recently moved from PC to Mac when starting a new job. One of the things I'm missing from my PC is G Site Crawler, and I haven't yet found a decent equivalent for the Mac. Can anybody recommend something as good as G Site Crawler for the Mac? I.e. I need the flexibility to exclude by URL parameter etc etc. Cheers everyone, Mark
Technical SEO | | markadoi840 -
Best source to keep abreast of Google Alogorith Changes
Good morning from 13 degress C about to chuck it down wetherby UK... I want to make sure i keep my finger on the pulse regarding Google Algorithmic changes. What is the best source to make sure your kept up to date with Googles ongoing tweeks to its Algorithm (apart from SEO moz). Thanks, David
Technical SEO | | Nightwing0 -
What is best suggested component for joomla seo
my site is running on joomla cms. Iam using jreviews, jomsocial. I want to know what is best componenet for seo and better results
Technical SEO | | jayadeep0