Should I avoid tracking parameters completely for optimal SEO?

reno_rita

I have been using URL parameters for years to track user behavior more accurately on my and my clients' websites, but recently a number of those small sites I'm trying to rank on Google are really having a tough time. I'm wondering if using URL parameters is ruining their ability to rank? For the main header links I don't use URL parameters, but for on-page links I do. I do use canonical meta tags to help ensure that the main pages are the ones...

Originally asked by Alex Banman on Stack Exchange (webmasters) (CC BY-SA 4.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

Query params of the backlinks aren't harming anything SEO-wise as long as they're not edge cases, so like not too many parameters or banned keywords in them. Query parameters inside a site aren't essential for tracking. Except maybe cross-domain linking, but that is completely fine SEO-wise too. //UPD from the comment: Don't use query parameters for tracking unless you have no other choice. And it's not due to SEO, it's due to general usability and visibility of things that don't need to be visible and general cleanness of the url. Probably will also slightly benefit SEO in cases when your would-be query params would take a lot of space in the url, or would have bad/misplaced keywords there.

Full answer by BNazaruk: https://webmasters.stackexchange.com/a/139289 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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