{"id":643764,"date":"2024-11-08T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/"},"modified":"2024-11-08T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T14:00:00","slug":"googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/","title":{"rendered":"#Google\u2019s srsltid= parameter: What it means for SEO and attribution"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bffc488ba\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bffc488ba\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#Is_Google_misattributing_organic_search_traffic_to_Shopping_Learn_why_the_new_srsltid_parameter_in_organic_listings_has_stirred_controversy\" >Is Google misattributing organic search traffic to Shopping? Learn why the new srsltid= parameter in organic listings has stirred controversy.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#1_Organic_search_is_not_Google_Shopping\" >1. Organic search is not Google Shopping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#2_Google_forgot_how_people_use_organic_search\" >2. Google forgot how people use organic search<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#3_Google_itself_tells_us_not_to_use_session-specific_IDs_nor_%E2%80%98irrelevant_parameters_in_the_URL_such_as_referral_parameters\" >3. Google itself tells us not to use session-specific IDs nor \u2018irrelevant parameters in the URL, such as referral parameters\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#4_This_change_defeats_the_purpose_of_the_relcanonical_tag\" >4. This change defeats the purpose of the rel=canonical tag<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#5_You_can_turn_auto-tagging_off_%E2%80%93_or_can_you\" >5. You can turn auto-tagging off \u2013 or can you?\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#6_This_breaks_the_long-time_Google_%E2%80%98rule_that_organic_listings_are_sacrosanct\" >6. This breaks the long-time Google \u2018rule\u2019 that organic listings are sacrosanct<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#Analysis\" >Analysis<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/googles-srsltid-parameter-what-it-means-for-seo-and-attribution\/#What_to_do_next\" >What to do next?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Google_misattributing_organic_search_traffic_to_Shopping_Learn_why_the_new_srsltid_parameter_in_organic_listings_has_stirred_controversy\"><\/span>Is Google misattributing organic search traffic to Shopping? Learn why the new srsltid= parameter in organic listings has stirred controversy.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>Back <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/thread\/288691031\/why-google-started-to-use-srsltid-parameter-recently?hl=en\">in August 2024<\/a>, some site owners started to notice that a parameter called <code>srsltid=<\/code> being <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ended to their organic listings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <code>srsltid=<\/code> parameter is nothing new. Barry Schwartz reported it here <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">in February 2022\u00a0when Google\u00a0<\/span>started appending it to Google Merchant Center listings with \u201cauto-tagging\u201d turned on. Its purpose was to ensure that clicks from product listings to a merchant\u2019s Web site were properly attributed to Google Shopping.<\/p>\n<p>A subtle change happened in August. Suddenly, this parameter wasn\u2019t just being added to listings under the \u201cShopping\u201d tag and universal search results; it was now being added to <strong>organic listings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Schwartz <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/seroundtable.com\/google-search-srsltid-url-parameters-37875.html\">covered this extensively<\/a> on his site on Aug. 12, including the official response that Google\u2019s John Mueller made in a LinkedIn post:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"545\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/John-Muellers-response-on-the-srsltid-parameter-issue.png.webp\" alt=\"John Mueller's response on the srsltid= parameter issue\" class=\"wp-image-448081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/John-Muellers-response-on-the-srsltid-parameter-issue.png.webp 545w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/John-Muellers-response-on-the-srsltid-parameter-issue-371x338.png.webp 371w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/John-Muellers-response-on-the-srsltid-parameter-issue-124x113.png.webp 124w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 545px) 100vw, 545px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This explanation seemed to satisfy most people. Everyone stopped talking about it and started to accept this as the new normal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While I\u2019m a big fan of Mueller and appreciate all the Search Relations team has done over the years, something didn\u2019t sit well with me. <\/p>\n<p>I sense this is one of those rare moments where a poor decision was made at Google and there\u2019s a bit of \u201ccircling the wagons\u201d going on.<\/p>\n<p>I will go through why I believe this is a major issue that needs to be fixed. Before I do, let\u2019s recap the root of the problem:<\/p>\n<p>The <code>srsltid=<\/code> parameter is generated upon every organic search impression. That means every time I refresh a SERP, Google appends a new, unique parameter to my organic listing.<\/p>\n<p>Here is why I think Google completely missed the target on this one.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-organic-search-is-not-google-shopping\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Organic_search_is_not_Google_Shopping\"><\/span>1. Organic search is <em>not<\/em> Google Shopping<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to assume that Google Organic search and Google Shopping search serve the same purpose, but they are fundamentally different.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From a user perspective, each serves a distinct function and always has.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Since 1998, users have turned to Google organic for information, while since 2002, they\u2019ve relied on Google Shopping (previously known as Google Product Search, Google Products or Froogle) specifically to find products.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The technical differences are even more pronounced. Google organic indexes webpages across the web, casting a wide net to gather and categorize information.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Google Shopping exclusively pulls data from a merchant\u2019s product feed, focusing solely on items available for purchase.<\/p>\n<p>From an SEO perspective, each ranking algorithm is completely separate.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, the lines get blurred because of universal search. Product listings can be served on the main Google organic page, just as you can find paid search, local and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> results.<\/p>\n<p>But up to now, Google has been pretty good at maintaining a clear distinction. If a site\u2019s store locator page happened to rank in Google organic, Google Maps wouldn\u2019t take \u201ccredit\u201d for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But for some reason, when a site\u2019s ecommerce product page ranks in Google organic, someone at Google decided that this should be attributed as a \u201cGoogle Shopping\u201d search for apparently no other reason than both having the name \u201cGoogle.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-google-forgot-how-people-use-organic-search\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Google_forgot_how_people_use_organic_search\"><\/span>2. Google forgot how people use organic search<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But something worse is happening than Google misattributing a few organic links.<\/p>\n<p>Think of how people who run ecommerce sites share links. More often than not, they\u2019ll go to Google, type in a product name, click the result and copy the URL from their address bar. That\u2019s fairly standard.<\/p>\n<p>Now, think about what happens when every Google organic result gets a unique parameter appended to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most people will not pay attention to the URL. They will share the URL they copied on their websites and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a>. Because these URLs have <code>srsltid=<\/code> parameters, they will all be attributed to Google Shopping.<\/p>\n<p>If you think this is just an edge case, just look at the number of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=site:x.com+%22\/?srsltid%22\">X<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=site%3Ainstagram.com+%22%2F%3Fsrsltid%22\">Instagram<\/a> results that contain this URL parameter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As the weeks and months go by, more and more will flood the web. These are all URLs that will be misattributed to Google Shopping.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1716\" alt=\"URLs with srsltid= parameters in the SERPs\" class=\"wp-image-448079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-403x338.png.webp 403w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-716x600.png.webp 716w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-135x113.png.webp 135w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-768x643.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-1536x1287.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1716\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs.png.webp\" alt=\"URLs with srsltid= parameters in the SERPs\" class=\"wp-image-448079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs.png.webp 2048w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-403x338.png.webp 403w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-716x600.png.webp 716w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-135x113.png.webp 135w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-768x643.png.webp 768w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/URLs-with-srsltid-parameters-in-the-SERPs-1536x1287.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-google-itself-tells-us-not-to-use-session-specific-ids-nor-irrelevant-parameters-in-the-url-such-as-referral-parameters\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Google_itself_tells_us_not_to_use_session-specific_IDs_nor_%E2%80%98irrelevant_parameters_in_the_URL_such_as_referral_parameters\"><\/span>3. Google itself tells us not to use session-specific IDs nor \u2018irrelevant parameters in the URL, such as referral parameters\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is SEO 101. Google Merchant Center injecting this URL into every organic result has the effect of, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/crawling-indexing\/url-structure\">in Google\u2019s own words<\/a>: <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201c\u2026creating unnecessarily high numbers of URLs that point to identical or similar content on your site.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mueller says this query parameter \u201cdoesn\u2019t affect crawling, indexation or ranking,\u201d which may be true on a surface level. But anyone who\u2019s been in SEO for a while knows that:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crawling is affected when Google sees thousands of the same URL with unique query parameters and has to figure out what to do with them.<\/li>\n<li>While indexing is technically unaffected (Google is just indexing the canonical URL and dynamically generating the <code>srsltid=<\/code> parameter on the fly), the practical effect is that Googlebot will potentially have to process hundreds or thousands of duplicate URLs.<\/li>\n<li>As for ranking, many of us have anecdotally seen that canonicals, like 301s, do not necessarily pass full PageRank vs. a permanent, direct link. I would love to trust Mueller here, but past history isn\u2019t comforting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"555\" alt=\"Irrelevant parameters in the URL\" class=\"wp-image-448082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL.png.webp 1024w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-600x325.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-800x434.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-200x108.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-768x416.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"555\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL.png.webp\" alt=\"Irrelevant parameters in the URL\" class=\"wp-image-448082\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL.png.webp 1024w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-600x325.png.webp 600w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-800x434.png.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-200x108.png.webp 200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Irrelevant-parameters-in-the-URL-768x416.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-this-change-defeats-the-purpose-of-the-rel-canonical-tag\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_This_change_defeats_the_purpose_of_the_relcanonical_tag\"><\/span>4. This change defeats the purpose of the rel=canonical tag<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ironically, the point of the <code>rel=canonical<\/code> tag in the first place was to <strong>avoid<\/strong> a situation where Google indexes and serves up multiple URL variations.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of how Google indexes these URLs, the practice of Google serving variations of the URL on the fly in organic search effectively defeats the whole purpose of the <code>rel=canonical<\/code> tag.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-you-can-turn-auto-tagging-off-or-can-you-nbsp\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_You_can_turn_auto-tagging_off_%E2%80%93_or_can_you\"><\/span>5. You can turn auto-tagging off \u2013 or can you?\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Mueller does raise the option of turning off auto-tagging in Google Merchant Center but quickly hedges by saying, \u201cThough it seems useful to me!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>His statement seems to brush off any suggestion that this is a problem and to tell everyone to accept this as the new normal.<\/p>\n<p>Either that or he knows this is a problem but has to maintain a unified face to the world.<\/p>\n<p>From my perspective, these are all pretty weighty implications, not just because they affect SEO hygiene but perhaps more importantly because the way they\u2019re designed can result in a lot of misattribution to Google Shopping.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The problem with Mueller\u2019s advice that you can turn this feature off is that it contradicts Google\u2019s own documentation, saying that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/merchants\/answer\/15191080?hl=en\">auto-tagging is a required feature<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>To make matters worse, the only link Google provides for manual tagging includes disclaimers stating it <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/1033863?sjid=8662279816858705331-NA#zippy=%2Cin-this-article\">does not apply to GA4<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Any SEO who wants to tell their team to shut off auto-tagging is in an awkward situation: They have to tell their team to shut off a feature that Google says \u201cis useful\u201d without providing a viable alternative.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-this-breaks-the-long-time-google-rule-that-organic-listings-are-sacrosanct\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_This_breaks_the_long-time_Google_%E2%80%98rule_that_organic_listings_are_sacrosanct\"><\/span>6. This breaks the long-time Google \u2018rule\u2019 that organic listings are sacrosanct<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This part is the most surprising of all. When I spoke with some Google engineers in the early 2000s, they took some pride in telling me that their organic search team was walled off from the rest of Google \u2013 literally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This was a large factor in their early success; while their competitors at the time routinely compromised their user experience to increase profits, Google organic was always independent from AdWords and other parts of Google.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is the first time I\u2019ve seen another Google department mess with the organic results and it\u2019s not a good sign.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-analysis\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Analysis\"><\/span>Analysis<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So, how should Google fix this? Simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Return to applying auto-tagging only to results in the Google Shopping tab and product listings in universal search. Leave the organic listings alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google already does this with the gclid= parameter on paid search results. There\u2019s no reason it couldn\u2019t do the same with product listings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Look, I get it. The Google Shopping team wants to enhance its analytics to report on how a product performs across Google\u2019s paid, shopping and organic listings.<\/p>\n<p>But hijacking Google\u2019s crown jewel \u2013 organic search \u2013 is not cool. The Shopping team should treat links on Google organic just like they would from Bing, Facebook, X or ChatGPT.<\/p>\n<p>Google used to be more transparent about these things. In this case, it would be nice if there was a little more communication about their plans to address it before <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=inurl%3Asrsltid+-intext%3Asrsltid\">a billion unwanted <code>srsltid=<\/code> parameters litter the web<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-to-do-next\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_to_do_next\"><\/span>What to do next?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re a site manager and you see the srsltid= parameter starting to appear in your inbound links, my suggestion would be to turn it off.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to Google Merchant Center and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/merchants\/answer\/15191080?hl=en\">shut off auto-tagging<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Use <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ga-dev-tools.google\/ga4\/campaign-url-builder\/\">Google\u2019s Campaign URL Builder for GA4<\/a> to manually create tags for each product and submit those in your feed to Google Shopping.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Keep your fingers crossed that with all the attention that this issue continues to generate, Google will finally get the hint and fix it.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<p>About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" alt=\"Steve Liu\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/04\/Steve-Liu.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/04\/Steve-Liu.png.webp\" alt=\"Steve Liu\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Steve Liu<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/follow?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fsearchengineland.com%2F&amp;region=follow_link&amp;screen_name=SteveLiuSEO&amp;tw_p=followbutton&amp;variant=2.0\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-x-twitter\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/steve-liu-42431234\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Liu has been in the SEO world since 2004 in the halcyon days when a dollar\u2014and a good title tag\u2014went a long way. Since then, he helped pioneer SEO strategy at 1-800-Flowers.com; established SEO strategies for clients at marketing agency DDB, including ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Hiscox Insurance; and most recently served as VP of SEO for Shutterstock and Pond5. Currently, Steve is taking a short break from the corporate world and is looking to find ways to help small businesses and entrepreneurs with their SEO. You can follow Steve on X at @SteveLiuSEO or learn more at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/steveliu.com\/\">steveliu.com<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-srsltid-parameter-seo-attribution-448077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Google misattributing organic search traffic to Shopping? Learn why the new srsltid= parameter in organic listings has stirred controversy. Back in August 2024, some site owners started to notice that a parameter called srsltid= being appended to their organic listings.\u00a0 The srsltid= parameter is nothing new. Barry Schwartz reported it here in February 2022\u00a0when&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":643765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/11\/Googles-srsltid-parameter-What-it-means-for-SEO-and-attribution-800x450.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[26293,148826,78070],"class_list":["post-643764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-google","tag-google-shopping","tag-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}