Addresses carry many query parameters

Why it matters

Google's post on faceted navigation explains that changing any parameter creates a new URL, that filters can generate a near-infinite number of them and lead to overcrawling, and names remedies such as a consistent order of filters and rel="canonical".

What to do

1. Look at the finding: it shows the address, its parameters and how many linked addresses, including this one, share the same path.
2. Remove parameters that do not change the content, such as tracking or sort defaults, from internal links.
3. Keep filters in one order, and point filtered pages to their main version with rel="canonical" where they show the same content.

When to leave it as it is: if the parameters are meaningful filters you want found, you can leave it, or raise the limit in your audit settings.

What we read

We read the <a href> and <area href> links in the HTML of each crawled page, without running JavaScript, resolve them against a <base href> if there is one, and keep the links to your own host, with or without www.; other hosts and subdomains are left out. This rule makes no extra request for a linked URL; the audit may already have crawled it.

An address is reported when its query has at least the set number of parameters, two by default; repeated names and names without a value each count. The limit is part of your audit settings and is recorded with each audit. Each address is its own finding, listed with the pages that link to it.

Only pages that answered 200 with complete HTML are read. A page we cannot read reliably without a browser, for example one with unsupported SVG markup or a <select> menu, and a page with a link we cannot resolve, such as one with a space in it, are marked as not checked for all the address checks.

Example & evidence

Illustrative example — one link, not a live audit.

https://bakery.example/cakes/ contains:

<a href="/cakes/?flavour=lemon&size=large&sort=new">Large lemon cakes</a>

The address has three parameters, meeting or exceeding the default limit of two, so it is reported with the page that links to it.

A possible correction: remove default or unnecessary parameters, leaving one, such as /cakes/?flavour=lemon. Dropping only sort=new leaves two parameters and this rule still reports the address.

Confirm & check again

Check for yourself: look at the links in your filters and menus and count the &-separated parts after the ?.

Check again: Full audit — run a new audit of the site. The finding for this address closes when every page that linked to it is crawled again, read in full, and no longer links to it. A linking page that is not crawled again, or cannot be read, keeps the finding open. A higher limit can also remove this notice on a new audit if the measured address no longer reaches its trigger and all prior referring pages are fully rechecked; the finding records its original limit.

Limits & sources

The check counts parameters and does not know which of them change the content, so it proves no duplicate content or wasted crawling. The check reads links as written in the HTML and makes no extra request for those addresses, does not follow redirects, and does not compare them with other versions of the page. Links added by JavaScript are not seen.

Confidence: High because the parameters are counted directly in the link.

Sources

• Google, Crawling December: Faceted navigation — explains that changing any parameter creates a new URL, that filters can generate a near-infinite number of URLs and cause overcrawling, and recommends a consistent order of filters. Checked 28 September 2026.

Editorial review: 29 September 2026

Related

• Addresses are very long — the address is very long, parameters included.
• Internal URL paths contain uppercase letters — the address has capital letters in its path.