Are URL parameters creating duplicate pages?
Sorting, filtering and tracking parameters multiply one page into many. When those parameterised URLs are indexable and canonicalise to themselves, Google sees duplicates and splits the ranking of the clean page.
Reads the canonical signals on a set of your pages and the parameters in your internal links. Saved to your account if you are signed in to a paid plan.
How this check works
Shipwork reads a set of your pages, finds the ones with query parameters, and checks whether each self-canonicalises (a duplicate risk) or points at the clean URL. It also scans internal links for tracking parameters, which create duplicates in the crawl.
What the URL parameter SEO checker finds
The URL parameter SEO checker inspects the pages it samples, up to 20 in a free run, and picks out any URL that contains a query string. For each one it checks whether the page declares itself as its own canonical. A parameterised URL that is both indexable and self-canonical is reported, because it creates a near-duplicate of the clean page under a second address.
It also scans the internal links on the sampled pages for tracking parameters, including common campaign keys such as utm_ and gclid, and counts how many links carry them. If the sample contains no parameterised URLs, the check says so rather than guessing.
How to read a URL parameter result
A finding that a parameterised URL canonicalises to itself means that address can be indexed in its own right, duplicating the clean version. That is the case worth fixing. A count of internal links carrying tracking parameters means your own navigation is generating those duplicate addresses, which is usually easy to correct.
Not every parameter is a problem. Sorting and filtering can be deliberate ways to browse, and a page that canonicalises the parameterised address to a clean URL is handling it correctly. A finding here simply means the address looked like a duplicate of a clean page and nothing in the markup told a search engine otherwise. The check cannot prove what a search engine indexed; it reports the risk visible in the markup and links it read.
Common causes and why they matter
Parameters multiply through faceted navigation, where colour, size, price and sort options combine into many addresses, and through campaign links that leave tracking keys on internal navigation. A template that canonicalises a filtered page to itself, or omits the canonical entirely, leaves every combination open to indexing.
When several addresses show the same products, the page's signals are spread across them and a search engine chooses one, often not the clean URL you wanted. A collection that should rank on its own may then hand that role to a sorted or filtered variant. The extra addresses also consume crawl attention that could go to real pages. Left alone, a faceted shop can generate thousands of near-duplicate URLs, most of which add nothing a shopper needs.
How to fix URL parameter duplication
Decide which parameters are worth indexing, if any, and make everything else point at the clean URL with a canonical. Block the rest from crawling with robots rules for the specific parameters or paths. Remove tracking keys from links on your own site so they are not created in the first place, keeping them only in external campaign links.
Correct the template or the SEO add-on that controls the canonical, then re-run the check to confirm parameterised pages no longer declare themselves canonical. On a store, review the faceted navigation settings and the source of tracking parameters in menus, banners and product feeds rather than fixing one URL at a time.
When to use related checks
Use canonical check to see how canonicals behave across page types, and duplicate content when the concern is repeated titles or descriptions rather than addresses.
The canonical tags guide explains choosing the preferred URL, which is the decision behind a parameter fix. Faceted navigation and internal search are the two most common sources of parameter URLs, so check those alongside this one.
Questions
What is a parameterised URL?
Should parameterised URLs be indexed?
Why are tracking parameters a problem?
Why are tracking parameters bad for SEO?
How do I stop URL parameters creating duplicate pages?
Does the URL parameter check test every URL on my site?
Keep reading
What this reads
- Reads public pages from outside your network, the way a crawler does.
- No signup, and nothing is stored on the free checks.
- One of 83 checks across discovery, content, markup, trust and catalogue data.
Cool, just ran an audit and got some insights! Let’s see if I can fix them :)
Whoah! this site is crazy, nothing to roast at all
cool as heck, tried it on my blog and the insights it gave are helpful and not bluff.