In the past period, we noticed an increase in the 'srsltid' parameter being appended by Google to standard search listing URLs, extending beyond Merchant Center results.
Recognizing that this parameter disrupted URL reporting consistency, we promptly updated our mechanism to exclude it from tracking. This enhancement ensures your ranking URL reporting remains consistent from one update to another, allowing you to effectively track performance trends and make informed decisions based on reliable insights from AWR.
What is the srsltid parameter?
The srsltid query string automatically appends to URLs generated by Google Merchant Center in organic shopping results. This parameter acts as a tracking tool, enabling merchants to differentiate traffic originating from Google’s free product listings within Google Analytics.
While the srsltid parameter does not alter the page's content, it allows merchants to gain valuable insights into the performance of these listings, helping them track user interactions and the effectiveness of their free product listings.
How did the srsltid parameter affect tracking?
The presence of the srsltid parameter on SERPs directly impacted URL tracking and reporting trends. Each time a URL appears in the SERPs, this parameter comes with a unique ID. As a result, AWR treated each URL as a new ranking URL due to this unique identifier being appended, even though it is technically the same URL.
As rankings for the same URL were seen as individual entries, the ranking trends and the historical data became fragmented, making it difficult to accurately monitor URL performance over time.
How did AWR handle the situation?
To tackle the challenges created by the srsltid parameter, we’ve excluded it from URL parsing within our platform, ensuring it doesn’t interfere with your data collection or analysis. This means that while Google’s SERPs display URLs with the srsltid parameter, AWR reports these links without it, providing you with clean, consistent URLs for better trend analysis.
Here’s a comparison of how URLs appear on Google vs. how AWR reports them:
This approach prevents your reports from being cluttered with multiple versions of the same URL, simplifying performance tracking.
Do you have any further questions or need more information about this product update? Don't hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated support team.