Google Really Really Uses The URL Parameter Tool Settings

The other day we reported how Google is looking for ways to move the URL parameter tool from the old Google Search Console to the new version. Well, he said it again in this mornings IRL video hangout. In fact, he said it is really used a lot and Google’s indexing team takes it very seriously – it is not one of those fake settings that do nothing (like rel nex/prev).

At the 47:50 mark into the video Google answered “Do you really consider the (URL parameters) settings in the tool or is it just for for me that?”

John said they really use it, he said:

No, no. We really use that. We really use it.

We use it so much that sometimes the indexing team will contact us and tell us to to contact websites and say like they hear you’re doing it wrong, you’re blocking things. That occasionally happens.

So it’s really easy to use that tool and say Oh Google should ignore this parameter and then you don’t realize that actually big part of your website relies on that parameter. And you set it wrong. So that’s kind of why we have such big warnings there as well. You should really know what you’re doing before you click around here.

Here is the embed at the start time:

Prior to that, he again said they shut down the features they do not want to port over already and they are looking for ways to port the existing features. But he added it is possible they do not move all the existing old features over but they want to.

Forum discussion at Twitter.