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Why E-Commerce Sites Ignore Google's URL Filter Guidance—and What Actually Works

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TLDR

Google recommends blocking filter URLs via noindex or robots.txt, but most major e-commerce sites use canonicals instead—and few test which approach actually performs better.

Optimixed Overview

Optimixed's original report on this story.

SEOFOMO News reports on a documented Google Search Central recommendation to prevent indexing of category filter and sort-order URLs using noindex or robots.txt. However, an examination of leading e-commerce sites reveals that canonical tags are far more commonly deployed for the same purpose, with filter URLs left live. The article raises an open question about whether the industry's pragmatic departure from Google's guidance stems from testing data or simply prevailing practice.

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