Wasting Server Resources: Many websites use too much computing power on unnecessary URL combinations.
Inefficient Crawl Budget: Crawlers may take longer to find important new content because they are busy with faceted navigation.
Weakening SEO Performance: Having several URLs for the same content can hurt a website’s SEO.
What’s Changed?
The new guidance is similar to the 2014 blog post, but it includes some important updates:
Focus on Performance: Google now clearly warns about the costs of using computing resources.
Clear Implementation Options: The documentation gives straightforward paths for different types of websites.
Updated Technical Recommendations: Suggestions now account for single-page applications and modern SEO practices.
Implementation Guide
For SEO professionals managing sites with faceted navigation, Google now recommends a two-track approach:
Non-Critical Facets:
Block via robots.txt
Use URL fragments (#)
Implement consistent rel=”nofollow” attributes
Business-Critical Facets:
Maintain standardized parameter formats
Implement proper 404 handling
Use strategic canonical tags
Related: Faceted Navigation: Best Practices For SEO
Looking Ahead
This documentation update suggests Google is preparing for increasingly complex website architectures.
SEO teams should evaluate their current faceted navigation against these guidelines to ensure optimal crawling efficiency and indexing performance.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/kenchiro168