“What exactly are URL parameters ?” “Is it related to SEO measures ?”
In this article, we will explain “URL parameters”, which are necessary settings when using Google Analytics.
By reading this article, you will be able to understand the types of URL parameters, the benefits of installing them, how to install them, and points to note.
If you want to improve your advertising effectiveness by checking where your users came from, let’s set up URL parameters right away.
What are URL parameters?
A URL parameter is a variable added to the end of a URL to send information to the server.
For example, in the URL below ? The character strings in blue below correspond to the parameters.
https://site.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=contents_marketing _
As shown above, add “?” to the end of the URL to send information to the server, and write it in the form of “parameter (variable) = value”.
Also, URLs with such variables are called “parameterized URLs”.
By setting such a URL parameter, you can accurately measure “how much you are getting out of the cost” of the advertisement result.
In addition, it is possible to understand “where the user came from” and ” display content that matches the attributes of each user “.
In this way, if you set URL parameters, you can analyze data that is not analyzed on the advertisement management screen, so there is no reason not to use it as much as people who are taking various measures to attract customers.
So, do URL parameters matter for SEO?
The bottom line, it has to do with SEO.
If you set the URL parameter, it will be considered as duplicate content by the crawler due to problems such as refinement search, and the SEO evaluation will be lowered.
However, rest assured that your SEO ranking will not change significantly with or without URL parameters.
Types of URL parameters
There are two types of URL parameters:
- Active parameter
- Passive parameters
Below we take a closer look.
active parameter
Active parameters are “URL parameters that change the display of a website depending on where the user is accessing from”.
In order to meet a wide range of user needs, it is often used on EC sites that have a large selection of products.
This is because websites with a huge amount of content make it difficult for users to find the information they are looking for.
There are three things you can do by setting active parameters.
- Display products in order of popularity on the product page
- Display related products
- Display products by color
As you can see above, changing the value will change what is displayed on the page.
For example, when a user tries to purchase clothes on an EC site,
If you narrow down your search to white, the URL parameter will be “☓☓☓.html?color=white” and the page will display only white clothes.
On the other hand, if you search for black, the URL parameter will be “☓☓☓.html?color=black” and the page will show only black clothes.
In this way, by changing the XX in the URL parameter “?color=XX (value)”, the content displayed on the page actually viewed by the user also changes.
Read Also: How To Use Google Keyword Planner?
Passive parameter
Passive parameters are “URL parameters useful for access analysis”.
It is also called “dummy parameter” because the displayed content does not change even if the value changes.
The following three things can be understood from the passive parameters.
- Where did the users come from?
- Site stay time
- Measurement of ad clicks
In this way, by setting passive parameters, it is possible to ascertain from what sources the users who have accessed the website contribute to the increase in the PV and CV of the website.
Advantages of setting URL parameters
There are two benefits that can be realized by setting URL parameters.
- You can understand the inflow route of users
- Distinguish between natural search and CPC
- Below we take a closer look.
You can understand the inflow route of users
By setting URL parameters, you will be able to understand which medium (website, advertisement, SNS, e-mail magazine, QR code) the user came from.
Also, as you analyze the site on a daily basis, you will gradually be able to see “what kind of media can attract your target audience”.
Distinguish between natural search and CPC
If you set a URL parameter, you will be able to distinguish between natural search and advertisement. and ads cannot be distinguished.
Also, Yahoo! programmatic advertising does not use parameter URLs so that organic search and ad inflows cannot be distinguished through Google Analytics.
People who want to see how well paid advertisements have paid for their costs and Yahoo! If you use performance-based advertising, set URL parameters.
Parameters for analysis with Google Analytics
When analyzing with Google Analytics, set URL parameters called “utm parameters”.
If you want to analyze a website, set up the following five.
- utm_source
- utm_medium
- utm_campaign
- utm_term
- utm_content
Below we take a closer look.
utm_source
Google or Yahoo! Among the referrers such as “Where the user came from” is identified.
utm_medium
Among organic (natural search), cpc (listing advertisement), affiliate (affiliate advertisement), and e-mail (e-mail magazine), identify “from which medium (media) the user flowed in”.
At the same time, we also identify ad types such as listing ads and banner ads.
utm_campaign
Identifies pages about campaigns featuring your products or services.
utm_term
Identifies keywords that have been set in advance on the advertising management screen, etc.
utm_ content
Identifies the content of the ad (such as an image).
In this way, the data that can be obtained from URL parameters for analysis with Google Analytics differs depending on the type of utm parameter.
Also, when measuring with Universal Analytics, utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign are mandatory, while utm_term and utm_content are optional.
Please note that in the case of GA4 , it is mandatory to install everything except utm_campaign.
How to set URL parameters
In fact, there are five rules to follow when writing URL parameters:
- Start with “?”
- Add “parameters and values” as a pair
- Be sure to add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign
- When adding multiple parameters, connect them with &
- “?” can only be used once
So far we’ve seen how to write URL parameters manually, but you can actually write them automatically as well.
That’s where a tool called the Google Campaign URL Builder comes to the rescue.
You can automatically generate URL parameters by entering necessary items such as site URLs and values into this URL generator tool.
If you write it manually, you may make a mistake, but if it is automatic, you can write the URL accurately.
If you are worried about making a mistake, use a tool that automatically generates URL parameters.
Points to note when using parameterized URLs
There are three things to keep in mind when using parameterized URLs:
- Avoid duplicate content
- Redirect settings
- Do not use Japanese in parameters
Below we take a closer look.
Avoid duplicate content
Avoid duplicate content when using parameterized URLs.
When you narrow down your search on an e-commerce site, etc., the content displayed on the page may be the same even though the specified conditions are different.
In such cases, even if the URLs are different, if the displayed content of the website is the same, search engines will consider it duplicate content and lower the SEO rating.
Therefore, when setting URL parameters, write a canonical tag and take measures ( URL normalization ) to prevent content duplication .
set redirect
When using URL parameters, set a redirect so that the parameter information is carried over to the transition destination site.
This is because if you lose the parameter information you have acquired so far when you transition with a redirect, you will not be able to measure the data that you have obtained.
Summary
This time, I introduced URL parameters. How was it?
A URL parameter is a variable added to the end of a URL to send information to the server.
By installing it, it is possible to understand “where the user came from” and “display content that matches the attributes of each user”.
It’s also a bit related to SEO, but don’t worry because the placement won’t change your rating significantly.
There are two types of URL parameters: “active parameters” that change the content displayed on the page when the value changes, and “passive parameters” that do not change the content displayed on the page even if the value changes. Let’s use properly by.
Also, by installing it, you can realize the merits such as “you can understand the inflow route of users” and “you can distinguish between natural search and CPC”.
When actually analyzing, set the Google Analytics URL parameters called “utm parameters” such as “utm_source”, “utm_medium”, “utm_campaign”, “utm_term” and “utm_content”.
If you are worried about manually writing and typing it wrong, we recommend using a URL generation tool that automatically writes the URL accurately.
When using URLs with parameters, be sure not to generate duplicate content, set redirects, and do not use Japanese in parameters.
This is because setting URL parameters may cause duplicate content.
It is necessary to take measures such as attaching canonical tags so as not to lower the SEO evaluation from search engines.
If you want to improve your advertising effectiveness by checking where your users came from, why not set up a URL parameter?
