About the URL Parameter Analyzer
Query parameters such as ?utm_source=, ?sort=price or ?sessionid= can turn one page into hundreds of URLs that search engines may crawl separately. This URL parameter analyzer parses a pasted list of URLs and groups every parameter by name, showing how often it appears and example values. It flags common types that create duplicate URLs: tracking, session, sorting and pagination parameters.
The analysis runs in your browser, so your URL list stays on your device. Use it on a crawl export, server log extract or Search Console pages report to understand where duplicates come from. Then decide on a fix per parameter: canonical tags back to the clean URL, removing parameters from internal links, blocking crawl of useless combinations in robots.txt, or keeping meaningful filters indexable.
How to use it
- Paste URLs, one per line, from a crawl, log file or Search Console export.
- Run the analysis to group parameters by name.
- Review flagged tracking, session, sort and pagination parameters.
- Choose a fix per parameter: canonical, internal link cleanup or robots.txt rule.
Frequently asked questions
Do URL parameters hurt SEO?
Parameters themselves are fine. Problems arise when many parameter combinations show the same or near-identical content, because search engines may waste crawling on them and split signals across duplicates. Tracking and session parameters are the usual culprits. Meaningful parameters, such as a filter that creates a page people search for, can be indexable.
Can I still use Google's URL Parameters tool?
No. Google retired the URL Parameters tool in Search Console in 2022, saying its systems had become better at working out which parameters matter. Today you manage parameters through canonical tags, consistent internal links, and robots.txt rules where crawling of certain combinations is truly wasteful.
Should I block parameter URLs in robots.txt?
Only when crawling them provides no value, for example endless sort and filter combinations. Remember that blocked URLs cannot pass their signals via canonical tags because Google cannot read them. For tracking parameters, a canonical to the clean URL and clean internal links are usually the better approach.