Maile Ohye from Google posted a detailed 15 minute video on how to use URL parameters feature in Google Webmaster Tools.
The feature is fairly technical, so Maile who has a gift of explaining technical things is a easy and clear way did a 15 minute video explaining when, why and how you should use this feature within Google Webmaster tools.
Here is the video:
Here is the automated transcript:
0:04i'm Maile and a
0:06i remember of google the webmaster supporting
0:08and i'd like to help you better understand how do you say you are out
0:12for rameters feature in webmaster tools
0:15europe parameters is a fairly advanced features
0:19system information
0:20might be more complex than one would expect
0:24before you further watch this video
0:26please check out the you are a parameter speech to see if you have a message from
0:30google explaining that
0:31we already believe we have high called coverage at your site
0:35and therefore no attachments to the speech are necessary
0:39the message would say
0:41critic of the hot in experiencing problems with covered if your site
0:44so you don't need to configure ul parameters
0:47incorrectly configuring parameters can result in pages from their site being
0:51dropped my index
0:52so we don't recommend you use this tool for that's necessary
0:56for those of you who have that message
0:58you're good to go
0:59and now for their viewing is even necessary
1:02but for those of you who don't have that message
1:04please keep watching
1:06and women may take aways is that improper actions on the ul parameters
1:10feature
1:11can result in pages no longer hearing in search
1:14again in advance teacher
1:17this was in your operating hours
1:19argues by google as a helpful hints in our college process
1:23first from directives
1:25you want to use things like a robot subtext disallow all admitted no index
1:30but using your operators hit
1:32is still very helpful
1:34in two thousand and ten
1:35the google store only sold about a hundred and sixty products
1:39and that seems fine and very easy to crawl
1:42the thing is that that out these a hundred and sixty s products
1:46it actually created
1:47three hundred eighty thousand you are out
1:50these you're also created by things like different types of navigation
1:54so google bot in terms of from your site
1:57doesn't just look at st two hundred unique urals
2:00but actually has to determine what you're up to call
2:03of the three hundred eighty thousand that were created
2:07you can't problema might want to be marketed crawling
2:10by looking at these to your house
2:13now the first one says category looking too
2:16let's say that you are out brings a lot to twenty unique items on the page
2:21but on the second u r l it's category keep with you too
2:24and sidekick with media
2:26so with the exact same items but now to say filtered down to five because of the
2:31psychic with media parameters
2:33so its way
2:34grew up with that described the first you're our
2:37and meet all twenty of the items
2:39ravin calling though if you are out and seeing agreed ended five right
2:43essentially
2:44with your input in you are out printers
2:47it helps us to understand your site better so jim crow more efficiently
2:52by pouring more efficiently we don't call it many duplicates
2:55and that will save you bandwidth
2:57and helps us to focus on your unique content
3:01rather than pulling it duplicative information repeatedly
3:04but if you want you arouse removed
3:06you can go to you about removal of the webmaster tools
3:09again to your operand nurse teacher it's a crime or physically
3:13if not about removal or explicit robots at texas a loudly
3:17another background piece of information but i'd like to mention
3:21in that case level marquette
3:23is still taken into consideration intended with the aura parameters
3:27so if you have peaceable markup like rockin on a call
3:31realm express around alternate eight ref playing that's fine it could still be
3:35used by google
3:37even if you're using ul parameters
3:39just make sure that we can still call your page
3:42meaning that it's not robots aren't x disallowed
3:45or you haven't sent it to not be called in ul parameters
3:48as long as we can call your page
3:50we could still use the capable market
3:53since we've covered the background information
3:56let's not talk about the types of your outfitter eligible for the future
4:00here's one from the google store it says category equals office
4:05other urals would be things like category equals wearables or category
4:10equaled wearables inside people's medium
4:13these you are out there eligible for the future
4:15because they come to in key value pairs or name value pairs
4:20what looks like is he
4:22equals value and then perhaps a ampersand
4:24anneke two equals value to you
4:27and global and we see these parameters one st basu around as a collective if
4:31you're out
4:32because the ordering the parameters doesn't matter
4:35u r l z better ineligible for this feature
4:38are those that don't use the key value configuration
4:42so if eyesight uses a budget plan so i see separate their parameters
4:46wedge issues a directory structure
4:49or they use their own type of the coating
4:51none of these types of your house can actually use because this feature
4:54requires the name value pairs
4:58all right
4:59i know that was a long interest but now let's get started with the future
5:03step one
5:05is to specify parameters that don't change the page's content
5:09so you can ask yourself
5:11do i have parameters that don't affect page content things like especially
5:15ninety an affiliate i_d_ or tracking eighty
5:18he stood for parameters build teams page content
5:21infill in the future you can actually marked them as does not teach content
5:27and when he said that
5:28webmaster tools will put one represent that you are out
5:32as the setting
5:33and then google bot will act accordingly
5:36one step one is completed
5:38for all the parameters that don't actually change page content
5:42then let's move on to step to which comes into parts
5:46the first part is to specify the parameters
5:49that change page content
5:51so you're select
5:53exchanges we orders ornelas page content
5:56and then you can have a type of page context
5:59whether that sort
6:00narrows specifies exception
6:03l cover marketing dept
6:05then the next part is set to be
6:08which is to specified with a lot
6:10preferred behavior
6:11so given that parameter how would you like google much actually call those you
6:16are out
6:17and we'll talk more about this as well
6:20but first parameter i'd like to cover is the sort for a better
6:24and recapping this first but it's a fairly complicated parameter and setting
6:29the summer grantor is something like sort equals prices sending or rectify
6:34equals best-selling
6:35any of these types of parameters
6:37that's just change the order that the content is presented these are sort of
6:41parameters
6:43once you've identified afoot parameter or suck parameters on your site
6:48an ex parte if the specified google blogs preferred behavior
6:52but when they see you around with this parameter
6:55now this can get pretty tricky
6:57so i have to listen i was here
6:59let's go to the person i am
7:02you could ask
7:03is this for parameter optional throughout my entire site
7:07meaning that the sort grammar is never displayed by default
7:10but only with manual selection
7:13if you can answer yes to that question
7:15that yes it options out my entire site
7:18then go on to question to you
7:20can google bought discover everything useful when the sock parameter is a
7:24display
7:26meaning that we can actually call of your items even if no store parameter is
7:30present on the or else
7:32it back to answer is yes
7:34and the first answer is yes
7:35and it's likely that with your start bremner
7:38you can't specify crawled know your house
7:41once they've applied this setting
7:44please verify at the sample you are out displayed in webmaster tools
7:48are in fact not cannot of course so they're just duplicates
7:51and that's because i'll call you around the world that you really want to call
7:55the index
7:56can be reached by regular user deputation
8:00if the first store parameter recommendation
8:03dating applied to your site
8:05and hopefully the second recommendation as well
8:07the second recommendation is
8:09if the same foot values argues consistently site-wide
8:14the process asap yourself are
8:16are the same sort of values used consistently across my entire site
8:21so and negative example of this where the user with saying no
8:25is it your and webmaster selling
8:27things like callings and point out
8:30so for your points you might have soared equals with the value your pcs
8:34but forty was your issued
8:36doesn't apply to your selling appear quite albums so it's not use
8:40consistently
8:41if the answer to the first question is yes
8:43then you can ask yourself the second question which is when a user change is
8:47the sort of value
8:48is the total number of items and changed
8:52panther is possible yes
8:54and it's likely that with your stock parameter you can't specify
8:57only call you are out there value x
9:00were acts as one of the sorting values that few site-wide
9:04if neither of those recommendations applied you're sort parameter
9:08and perhaps select
9:10let double bock decide
9:13the second parameter that i'd like to cover
9:15is that narrows parameter
9:17narrows filters the content on the page by showing us upset of the total items
9:22seven policy that's on e-commerce site
9:25where in the navigation
9:27users able to sweat if they only one of the item better left in twenty five
9:31dollars or twenty five dollars to forty nine ninety nine
9:34all of this is narrowing the content of the total life
9:38example of the nails parameter are
9:41size equals medium
9:43and equals twenty-five or color equals blue
9:47if the news parameter shows
9:49left useful content
9:51shows content that's just a subset of the content from the more useful you're
9:55out which doesn't include the nose print either
9:58and you might be able to specify
10:00crawl into your house
10:02for example useful ural it's category with you too
10:06and the lessons for norrell
10:08is category forty two points i think with medium
10:11here i'm expressive five size as engineers parameter
10:15and then because it has less useful content
10:18i can state chrono your house
10:20but before i specify color your health
10:23it's going to verify a few things first
10:27be sure that the nails parameter
10:29well also filter out
10:31useful pages that you'd like called and surfaced in search results
10:34so if you have brand or category pages that you'd like to show the users
10:39the shore that when you select chrono your house
10:42that those brand a category pages will be affected
10:45second
10:46verified that example you are out that might be displayed and wet master tools
10:51are really you are out that provide non useful content when compared to the
10:55paragraph
10:56so again you see content to light
10:58categorical seated inside the bosnian and you know the decided both medium
11:03that narrows parameter
11:04just isn't useful
11:06if the behavior of chrono you are a house
11:08just as a optical for your site because it affects too many important frantic
11:12category pages
11:15let doable but decide
11:16the next perimeter is specifies
11:19specifies determines the content displayed on the page
11:23for example item i_d_ equals enjoy t-shirt
11:27or skew equals four nine five
11:29the specifies parameter is responsible for the actual content
11:33and so you'll likely select crawl every europe
11:37after specifies is translates
11:40unless you want to exclude certain languages from being called and
11:44available in search results
11:46like auto-generated translations
11:48unless that's the case
11:50that is likely you'll select
11:51crawl every you are out
11:54out from the side
11:55won best practice but i'd like to mention
11:57and this is by no means the requirement
12:00is to put your translated original content
12:03not only your out parameter
12:05but actually in a sub folder or subdirectory
12:08the reason why is that
12:09in a subdirectory has some thoughts are it helps people to better understand ur
12:13site structure
12:14and that the supplies to translator regional content
12:17the laughter emitter is patty
12:20passionate displays one component page
12:23of a multi page sequence
12:25examples are page it was three you items equal ten to thirty or start index is
12:31twenty
12:32with passion it's because he wanted to crawl every page to reach all of your
12:36items
12:37it's nearly always crawl every you are out
12:42congradulations
12:43you finally gotten through the discussion about the different
12:45parameters
12:46and effective about the heat
12:48and now you can go back to your site and repeat this process for the depict
12:52remedies that you have
12:54you don't have to do this for every single parameter
12:57just including a few and specify directly without the havier can really
13:01help with the property
13:04we're almost done
13:05but you might be asking one last question which is
13:08what about multiple parameters and when you are out
13:11for example skew equals two three four
13:14page equals three and sort by equals price expansion
13:18how does your operand hers work when there are multiple printer settings
13:23the letter is to remember
13:25that you were all parameters is about crawling your site
13:28more efficiently
13:29so you can imagine that all your art that we know about for your site
13:33so through the google store all three hundred and eighty thousand your house
13:37beginners a lovable for crawling
13:39and then we work as a process of elimination not inclusion
13:43so we take our knowledge of your site
13:46combined like each of your settings in the wealth rameters
13:49too slowly we don't wait the ul that should be called
13:53until the very end we have a smaller subset
13:56of good you are out
13:58to recap
13:59if you are now more comfortable with the or a premature ste
14:02do you like this feature for more efficient crawling at your site
14:06you can start with specifying the parameters that don't change page
14:10content
14:11bill should be easier to do
14:13and actually done that step
14:15the next time
14:16it to specify predators that change the page content
14:19and remember if you can't determine don't guess please let the robot decide
14:25one more time
14:26distorts parameter if the sorts parameter for your site never exist in
14:31the ural by default
14:33then chrono your house
14:36if site-wide the same sort of value is always used
14:40then call you or else with value x
14:43for narrows
14:44if you're in a rose parameter causes non useful filtering for searchers
14:49like size or prize
14:51then you might select chrono urals just be sure to double check that none of the
14:56airport pages will be affected
14:58for specifies it's usually crawl every you around
15:02and the same applies to translate and apaches
15:06ninety-eight i think we've covered a lot of information about your operators
15:11here are links to more resources if you want for their help
15:15thank you and best of luck
Forum discussion at Google+.
