Google: Do Not Use Robots.txt To Block Indexing Of URLs With Parameters

Nov 8, 2019 - 7:28 am 10 by

Lines Google

Google's John Mueller said you should absolutely not "use robots.txt to block indexing of URLs with parameters." He said if you do that then Google "cannot canonicalize the URLs, and you lose all of the value from links to those pages." Instead use rel-canonicals and link consistently throughout your site.

John said this on Twitter, here is an embed of the tweet:

He then had a follow up about why it is so bad to block these URLs with robots.txt:

So be careful about this and double check all of these things on your web sites.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 10, 2025

Jul 10, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Google June 2025 Core Update Leading To Some Partial HCU Recoveries

Jul 10, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Performance Report Average Position Bug?

Jul 10, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Search Ads People Also Consider Carousel Format

Jul 10, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Drops Utility Bill As Evidence For Appeal

Jul 10, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google

Google AI Mode Comes To Circle to Search and Lens

Jul 10, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google Ads Editor v1.2 Adds New Campaign Types & Cross-Account Features