GSC errors

Technical Q&A
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Topic summary

A user is experiencing increasing “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” errors in Google Search Console, specifically for URLs containing parameters like ?variant=44136785641712 and ?currency=AUD.

Root Cause:

  • URL parameters create multiple versions of the same page (e.g., product variants for different sizes/colors, multi-currency options, tracking parameters)
  • Search engines may interpret these as duplicate content

Key Points:

  • The user has already disallowed ?variant= in their robots.txt file
  • Canonical tags should point all parameter variations to the preferred URL version
  • Common in e-commerce sites with product variants and multiple currency options

Status: The user is seeking guidance on whether backend code changes are needed and how to prevent or remove these parameters. The discussion remains open with no definitive solution provided yet.

Summarized with AI on November 7. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi Experts,

Can you please explain the type of URLs that keep increasing my “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” errors?

Samples

?variant=44136785641712&currency=AUD

Screenshot 2024-07-19 at 9.58.17 AM.png
Screenshot 2024-07-19 at 9.58.17 AM.png916×559 31.1 KB

Do I need to remove any codes from my backend?

Please send help.

Note: I already disallow the “?variant=” on my robot.txt



2

Hello @MsMarj ,

  1. Parameters like ?variant=44136785641712 and ?currency=AUD create different versions of the same page. Search engines might see these as separate pages with similar content, leading to duplicate content issues.
  2. The canonical tag is used to indicate the preferred version of a webpage when multiple versions exist. If your website is generating multiple URLs for the same content (due to parameters), you need to ensure that all these versions point to the canonical URL.
  3. Common in e-commerce sites where product pages can have multiple variants (e.g., different sizes, colors, etc.), leading to different URLs for the same product.
  4. Websites that offer multiple currencies may append currency parameters to URLs, creating different versions for each currency.
  5. URLs might include tracking parameters (e.g., for analytics) that create additional versions of the same page.
    I hope this will be useful to you.
1 Like
3

Thanks for this @oscprofessional . Is there any way to prevent this parameters? or other way to remove it