sabotaging your SEO)

Search engines waste time crawling these variations (a.k.a. crawl waste, which is problematic for big sites)

Your best pages get buried under all these filter combinations (classic index bloat i.e., too many near-duplicate pages in Google’s index)

In short, not good.

So, let’s clean up the mess before it completely tanks your rankings.

Further reading:

How to Optimize Faceted Navigation for Users and Bots

Your faceted navigation needs to work for both users and search engines.

What happens when you get this right?

Visitors find exactly what they want.

They stay longer and engage more deeply with your website.

And Google?

They’ve been clear about this: affects rankings.

When Google sees visitors actively engaging with your pages rather than bouncing back to search?

They tend to reward those pages with better rankings.

Here's how , Head of SEO at Backlinko, puts it:

Faceted navigation success comes down to balance. It should be intuitive for users helping them find what they need quickly, while staying optimized for search engines to avoid issues like duplicate or low-quality URLs. Get the balance right, and you'll boost engagement and better search engine visibility.

The challenge?

Your faceted navigation needs the right setup to make this work.

Here's how:

Step 1. Find Faceted Navigation SEO Issues

First, check if faceted navigation is causing SEO problems.

Here’s how:

1. Find Your Faceted Navigation Pattern

Start by identifying your faceted URL pattern.

• Go to your site’s main category or search page
• Click one or more filters
• Watch what happens to your URL

Here's what you're looking for:

Every site adds filter parameters differently. But they all follow a pattern.

For example, on the Build with Ferguson’s bathroom faucets page, the base URL is:

Now watch what happens when you:

• Select "Faucet" as product type
• Choose "Vigo" as manufacturer

The URL changes to:

See that "?facets=" part?

 That's their filter indicator. Everything after it shows which filters are active.

Etsy, on the other hand, adds “?q=”:

Step 2. Clean Up Low-Value Faceted URLs

Have you found your site’s low-value faceted URLs in Google’s index?

It's time to get them out of there.

You've got four ways to handle this.

1. Add Noindex Tags

Want to keep some pages out of search results? The noindex tag helps you with that.

Here's the code to add to your HTML:

2. Block Crawler Access

Use your robots.txt file to stop search engine bots from crawling certain pages.

Simply add disallow rules like this:

Want to see this in action?

Check out Tiffany & Co.'s robots.txt file.

They block double color combinations from being crawled.

Here’s why:

These pages create endless URL variations that show near-duplicate content and eat up their crawl budget.

3. Use Canonical Tags

Got multiple URLs showing the same content?

Canonical tags tell search engines which version is the main one.

For example, let’s say you sell sweaters in different colors. This creates URLs like:

• yoursite.com/cardigans-sweaters/sweaters.html?color=blue
• yoursite.com/cardigans-sweaters/sweaters.html?=red
• yoursite.com/cardigans-sweaters/sweaters.html?=green

Using canonical tags, you can point all these variations to a main URL with this code:

Here’s how H&M does this.

4. Clean Up Your Sitemap

Your sitemap tells search engines which pages are important.

Keep it focused.

• Add your valuable filtered pages
• Remove low-value filter combinations
• Update it when you optimize new pages

and Ahrefs to find filter combinations people search for.

Here's how to do this with Semrush.

Say you run a health website.

Go to “Keyword Research” > “Keyword Magic Tool.”

Type a broad category keyword, like "supplement."

Click “Search.”

In the window that opens, sort the results by clicking “By volume” in the left column.

Look what we found:

• Iron supplements: 60.5K searches
• Iron supplements for women: 8.1K searches
• Liquid iron supplements: 6.6K searches

See what's happening here?

These numbers show real search demand.

The takeaway?

If you’ve got filtered pages matching these high-volume terms, they’re prime candidates for optimization.

2. Check Your Internal Search Data

Here's a goldmine you might be missing:

Your users tell you exactly what they want through your site's search bar.

Here's how to find these insights in Google Analytics:

Go to “Reports” > “Life cycle” > “Engagement” > “Events.”

Search for “view_search_results” in the list of Events.

Click it to get internal search data.

Then, scroll down to “search_term.” This lists the top search queries on your site.

These terms reveal the filter combinations shoppers look for when they’re on your site.

Before You Optimize: Ask These Questions

Question	Why It Matters
Does this page target high-intent keywords?	These keywords bring in users who are ready to take action. The kind likely to convert.
Is there a strong demand for this filter combo?	High-demand pages have greater traffic potential
Does it drive engagement or conversions?	Strong engagement shows users love these pages. Optimize them for even higher rankings.
Can it realistically rank?	Focus on terms where you have a real chance of reaching page one

Step 4. Create Dedicated Landing Pages

Once you find your high-value combinations, it's time to optimize them for search.

Basic SEO optimizations apply here.

• Set self-referencing canonical tags
• Add target keywords to H1 tags
• Include keywords in title tags and meta descriptions
• Add unique content so it stands out from similar pages

Apart from these basic optimizations, also make sure to:

• Build internal links to these pages
• Keep them crawlable
• Add them to your sitemap

Let me show you how Sephora does this.

Go to their "Night Creams" category page.

Now add these filters:

• Skin Type: "Dry" and "Sensitive"
• Formulation: "Cream"

This creates a targeted page: "Night Creams for Dry Sensitive Skin."

Look how they optimize it:

• The breadcrumb and H1 both update to "Night Creams for Dry Sensitive Skin" 
• The keywords prominently display at the top of the page

Check the HTML.

• The canonical tag points to this URL
• The meta title and description include the target phrase

And the results?

Google "night creams for dry sensitive skin."

You'll find Sephora ranks in the top three.

They even appear in Google's AI overviews.

That's the power of proper optimization.

Now, your move:

Take a page from Sephora's playbook.

Pick your most valuable filtered pages.

Then, turn them into fully optimized landing pages that rank when people are ready to buy.

Step 5. Monitor and Optimize

Here's a mistake we see all the time:

People set up faceted navigation and never look at it again.

Bad move.

Why? Because search behaviors and trends constantly change.

Your needs to keep up.

Here’s what to track after you set up your faceted navigation.

What to Track	Why It Matters	What to Do
Traffic and Engagement	Shows if pages help users find products	Numbers dropping? Update content or test new filter combos.
Keyword Performance	Reveals if you're capturing valuable searches	Losing rankings? Adjust keywords and metadata. Review SEO content optimization basics.
Sitemap Health	Ensures clean crawling	Regularly remove low-value and duplicate pages

Best Practices for Optimizing Faceted Pages

1. Build Your Dream Team

Faceted navigation isn't just an SEO project. You'll need:

• SEO specialists to identify opportunities and avoid issues
• Developers to handle technical implementation
• UX/CRO experts to keep the user experience smooth

Your goal?

A setup that balances user experience with SEO value. Without unnecessary glitches.

Further reading: SEO Roadmap: How to Create One + Free Template

2. Check Platform Limitations First

Every CMS has restrictions.

For example:

• Shopify has limited URL customization options out of the box
• Some restrict canonical tag implementation
• Others limit your control over robots.txt

The solution?

Talk to your developers before planning. Make sure your ideas actually work on your platform.

Further reading: Shopify SEO: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

3. Master Your URLs

Faceted URLs get messy fast. But clean URLs help Google understand your site better. 

Here’s how to do it right.

Keep parameters clear and consistent. Like this:

Avoid URL bloat.

Why? 

Because parameters like sort and view don't need new URLs.

For more guidance, check Google's (it’s a bit old, but it’s still relevant.)

Further reading:

Ready to Make Your Faceted Navigation Drive More Traffic?

Here's the bottom line:

Your site (or your client’s) probably has hundreds of filtered pages just sitting there right now.

Unused. Unoptimized. Untapped.

Follow the steps above and these faceted navigation pages can help boost rankings and drive more organic traffic.

Just don’t forget.

Get those canonical tags right.

Our guide on canonical URLs walks you through exactly how. Clear steps. Real examples. Zero confusion. Check it out now.