What is srsltid? And What Are We Going to Do About It?

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, the chances are as an SEO you’ve probably seen URLs with the ?srsltid parameter everywhere. Like wasps in a hot September beer garden the srsltid parameter has been making its way into organic search results URLs, causing frustration and irritation among SEOs and threatening to sting our performance. While initially thought to be a bug (the software, systems type not a small flying tyrant), it appears that this parameter has a purpose tied to Google’s internal mechanisms, potentially related to tracking user interactions or Merchant Center configurations.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the srsltid parameter, analyse its impact, and offer actionable strategies for managing it.

What is srsltid?

The srsltid parameter is a string of characters added to the end of URLs in search results. This can look something like:

https://warrenhanceseo.com/?srslid=abcd1234efgh5678

It was first noticed appearing in URLs from organic search results, sparking discussions in the SEO community. Initially, it was unclear whether this was a tracking mechanism or a glitch in Google’s systems. However, the prevailing theory is that it’s linked to Merchant Center auto-tagging, adding unique identifiers to URLs to track click-throughs or other user interactions.

When and Why Did srsltid Start Appearing?

The presence of srsltid began surfacing in mid-2023, with many SEOs and site owners raising concerns on platforms like Twitter and forums like WebmasterWorld. Google representatives, including John Mueller, addressed these concerns by confirming that it was not a bug but rather a side effect of auto-tagging within Google Merchant Center.

This raised further questions: Why is a Merchant Center parameter showing in regular organic results? The exact details remain elusive, but the likely reasons could include:

1. Enhanced Tracking: Google might be using srsltid to track certain behaviours for Merchant Center products or ads.
2. Testing New Features: Google often tests new features or tracking mechanisms, and this could be one such test that inadvertently affected organic results.

How Does srsltid Impact SEO?

The main concern is that srsltid can lead to various issues for SEOs:

1. Duplicate URLs: The parameter may cause duplicate URL issues, especially when URLs with srsltid get indexed separately. This can lead to content cannibalisation and diluting the SEO value across different URLs.
2. Analytics Disruption: This parameter can cause discrepancies in analytics tracking. For instance, URLs with srsltid will appear as separate entries in Google Analytics, fragmenting data and making it harder to gauge performance accurately.
3. Impact on Redirects and Canonicals: Redirects and canonical tags need to account for the srsltid parameter, or else it could cause incorrect canonicalisation or redirection chains.

Technical Analysis and Solutions

Here’s a technical deep dive into how you can identify and address the presence of srsltid on your site:

1. Log File Analysis: Perform a log file analysis to see where and how often URLs with the srsltid parameter appear. This can give insights into whether the parameter is being served to Googlebot or just appearing in user sessions.
2. Google Search Console Inspection: Use the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console to check if URLs with srsltid are being indexed separately. If so, it may be necessary to update canonical tags or set up URL parameter handling in GSC.
3. Stripping the Parameter: Consider using server-side methods or JavaScript to strip the srsltid parameter from URLs when they load. This will ensure that users and Googlebot are only seeing the main URL without parameters, which helps consolidate SEO signals.
4. Analytics Configuration: Update your Google Analytics configuration to exclude the srsltid parameter. This can be done by setting up a filter in Google Analytics under Admin > View Settings > Exclude URL Query Parameters. This step ensures that data remains clean and aggregated correctly.

What Should You Do About srsltid?

Immediate Actions:

1. Disabling Auto-Tagging in Google Merchant Center

To prevent srsltid from being added to your URLs, turn off Google Merchant Center’s auto-tagging:

1. Log into Merchant Center: Use your account credentials to access the dashboard.
2. Navigate to Conversion Settings: Click on the settings cog and select Conversion Settings.
3. Disable Auto-Tagging: Find the auto-tagging toggle and turn it off.
4. Verify Changes: Ensure URLs no longer include srsltid by checking a sample set of URLs in the search results and your logs.

Recommendation: Disabling auto-tagging is crucial as it stops the problem at the source, preventing Google from creating and indexing unwanted URLs.

2. Implementing Noindex Tags for srsltid URLs

If your site already has srsltid URLs indexed, adding noindex tags can help keep them out of the SERPs:

1. Identify Affected Pages: Use Google Search Console to see which pages are indexed with srsltid.
2. Add Noindex Tags: Insert a <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”> tag within the HTML <head> section of pages with this parameter.
3. Dynamic Noindex Tags: For CMS platforms like WordPress, use PHP to add noindex tags conditionally when the srsltid parameter is present.
4. Verify in Google Search Console: After deploying changes, confirm that pages show as noindex in Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool.

3. Correcting Canonical Tags to Manage Duplicate Content

If srsltid parameters have caused duplicate content issues, updating canonical tags can direct search engines to the preferred URL:

1. Audit Pages with Duplicates: Identify pages with duplicate content caused by srsltid in Screaming Frog or Google Search Console.
2. Set Canonical Tags: Use the canonical URL attribute to specify the preferred version of the page without the srsltid parameter.
3. Update CMS Settings: In platforms like Shopify or WordPress, set canonical preferences in the CMS settings to apply globally.

Pro Tip: Canonical tags should be used in combination with URL parameter handling to avoid further duplication issues.

4. Modifying Robots.txt to Control Crawling

To prevent Google from crawling and indexing URLs with srsltid, update your robots.txt file:

1. Locate Your Robots.txt File: Typically found at www.yoursite.com/robots.txt.
2. Add Disallow Rules: Insert a line such as Disallow: /*?srslid=* to prevent crawling of any URL containing the parameter.
3. Verify No Valuable URLs are Blocked: Use Google Search Console’s URL inspection tool to ensure that only the unwanted URLs are blocked.

Important: Be cautious with robots.txt changes as they can inadvertently block valuable pages if not set up correctly.

What the SEO Community is Saying

The SEO community has been actively discussing srsltid on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. Prominent SEOs have shared their concerns about the parameter’s impact on organic tracking and offered advice on how to handle it. Google’s stance has remained that it’s not a bug but a feature of the Merchant Center, which still leaves some questions unanswered.

Future Outlook: Is srsltid Here to Stay?

It’s hard to say if the srsltid parameter is here for the long term or just a temporary experiment. Google has a history of adding and removing parameters (e.g., gclid and fbclid). The SEO community should continue monitoring and documenting its behaviour to anticipate future trends.

The srsltid parameter has raised many questions and caused some disruption within the SEO world. While it appears to be related to Merchant Center’s auto-tagging feature, its appearance in organic search results is not yet fully understood. The best approach is to monitor, analyse, and proactively manage this parameter using the strategies mentioned above.

By staying vigilant and adapting quickly, SEOs can mitigate any negative impacts and continue to optimise their sites effectively.