Checks
Query parameter count
Checks that a page's URL carries at most 2 query parameters, since parameter-heavy URLs look dynamic and dilute crawl budget across near-duplicate variants.
What this check looks for
This check counts the distinct query-string keys on the page's URL. More than 2 warns, reporting the count. 2 or fewer passes, including URLs with none at all.
Why it matters
Every distinct combination of query parameters can look like a separate URL to a crawler, even when it renders the same or nearly the same content — a product page reachable through a dozen sort, filter, and tracking parameter combinations effectively multiplies into a dozen URLs competing for the same crawl budget and diluting ranking signal across variants instead of consolidating it on one clean URL. Heavily parameterized URLs also just look less trustworthy and more "dynamic" to a person deciding whether to click a search result or share a link. AI crawlers building an index of your site face the same duplication problem, potentially processing the same content repeatedly under different parameter combinations instead of once under a clean canonical URL.
How to fix it
Move meaningful parameters into the path and canonicalize parameter variants:
# 4 query parameters
https://www.acme.com/products?category=audio&sort=price&color=black&session=xyz
# Path-based, canonical
https://www.acme.com/audio/headphones/wireless-ncFor legitimate filter/sort parameters you need to keep, pair this with a canonical tag pointing at the clean, parameter-free version of the page.
See how your site scores on this check