Google Search Console URL Parameters Help

[Iain_Henderson]

Hi, when I look on my Google Search Console (old version) it shows that I have created various URL Parameter rules. For example, in June 2017 I created a rule which told Google not to crawl any URL's with filter_type in the URL and if I drill down on the rule it shows as an example URL the following:

shop/page/3/?filter_type=hair-clip

However, when I go to the new Search Console I can find various URL's that have been indexed with filter_type in the URL (example on 07/08/2018 it shows this one

https://arranview.com/shop/page/31/?filter_type=hair-clip

Any help on understanding why it it happening and any advice on how to sort it would be appreciated! Thanks, Iain

 

[justinaldridge]

Hi Iain

The URL parameters controls in GSC are really a last option as indexing should ideally be controlled by noindexing/canonicalising on the website or using robots.txt to limit where the crawlers can go.

Yours is a bit odd in that those shop pages all have a canonical back to https://arranview.com/shop/ which means none of the querystring URLs should be indexed at all.

Has this always been in place? Is it a new template? It can take weeks sometimes for all canonicaled pages to be deindexed.

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Hi, when I look on my Google Search Console (old version) it shows that I have created various URL Parameter rules. For example, in June 2017 I created a rule which told Google not to crawl any URL's with filter_type in the URL and if I drill down on the rule it shows as an example URL the following:

shop/page/3/?filter_type=hair-clip

However, when I go to the new Search Console I can find various URL's that have been indexed with filter_type in the URL (example on 07/08/2018 it shows this one

https://arranview.com/shop/page/31/?filter_type=hair-clip

Any help on understanding why it it happening and any advice on how to sort it would be appreciated! Thanks, Iain

Has your site always been encrypted on HTTPS, or did you migrate it? If the latter, when?

Google considers HTTP and HTTPS as different URLs, so if you create parameter rules for your HTTP site, they won't apply to the HTTPS version. You'll have to add a new site in Search Console with the HTTPS domain and re-create the rules.

 

[Iain_Henderson]

Hi, many thanks for the replies. The site has always been HTTPS for Google Search Console but the template is new so hopefully just a matter of time before Google deindex these pages.

 

[justinaldridge]

Ah ok, yes, it's just a matter of time. You can remove them manually in GSC but I would just let Google naturally deindex them all.