About External URL Parameters
1 min read
Some external marketing tools can create a duplicate version of your page's URL with added parameters for tracking purposes. For example, the following URL includes a tracking parameter: https://www.mystunningsite.com/?gclid=Test
Examples of common external parameters:
- gclid: Added by Google Ads.
- fbclid: Added by Meta when someone clicks your page through a social post.
The added parameter doesn't affect your page's content. In most cases, Google recognizes this version of the URL as a duplicate and excludes it from indexing. However, there is still a chance that Google may treat the URL as a separate page of your site and show two versions in search results - the regular URL and another one with tracking parameters.
If you see a URL with tracking parameters in Google Analytics, you can exclude it by applying filters to your view. We recommend adding a new view and applying the filters there, as filters may change your view's future data.
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