UTM Parameters
UTM parameters track marketing attribution but can create multiple URLs for the same page. Use canonicals pointing to the clean URL.
Definition
UTM parameters (utm_source/utm_medium/utm_campaign, etc.) are used for analytics attribution. The SEO risk is multiple URLs representing the same content. Best practice is to keep self-canonicals, internal links, and sitemaps pointing to the clean URL without UTM parameters.
Why it matters
- Prevents UTM variants from being selected as the indexed canonical
- Reduces duplication and crawl waste
- Consolidates signals to the primary URL
How to implement
- Use self-referential canonicals pointing to the clean URL
- Avoid UTM on internal links (use it for external campaigns)
- Consider noindex for tracking variants if necessary
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