URL parameters
This report shows you any URLs of your website that contain dynamic parameters.
What dynamic parameters are and why you should avoid using them in your URLs:
Dynamic parameters are value pairs that are specified in the URL of a page. For example, a dynamic URL with parameters might look like this
http://www.example.com/index.php?id=123
These URLs are difficult to read and comprehend. In addition, they do not provide any information about the content of the page to search engines.
The use of dynamic parameters also runs the risk of pages being served from multiple URLs, which can lead to duplicate content problems.
The use of session IDs as dynamic parameters in the URL is a common example. These do not change the content of the page.
However, they do result in a new URL variant being created for each ID, which technically counts as a new page.
How to fix these problems:
- Avoid using dynamic parameters in URLs wherever possible.
- Instead, use clear and descriptive URLs. They should summarize the content of the page using important keywords. Example:
http://www.example.com/shoes/sneakers/adidas.html - If using parameters is unavoidable, ensure that each URL with parameters contains a canonical link to the variant without parameters. This will prevent duplicate content issues.
You can find more tips on how to optimize your URLs in our wiki article "SEO-friendly URLs".