I want to add some parameters to my URLs so that I can identify if a page was opened by a visitor clicking on a homepage link, the top navigation, the bottom navigation, etc. So something like:
(can't post more than two links here)
However, I want to make sure that the search engine does not thing this is a separate page and that I have a lot of duplicate content on my page. I figured there is some "Industry Standard" way of doing this, to make it clear that my parameters are just internal flags for statistics, and not indicative of different content. But I can't find relevant search results when Googling; not sure how to search for this.
So my question: is there a way I should name or use URL parameters to ensure search engines are aware of the significance of these links?
Turns out, there is a set of parameters available. They are:
Campaign Source (utm_source)
Required. Use utm_source to identify a search engine, newsletter name, or other source.
Example: utm_source=google
Campaign Medium (utm_medium)
Required. Use utm_medium to identify a medium such as email or cost-per- click.
Example: utm_medium=cpc
Campaign Term (utm_term)
Used for paid search. Use utm_term to note the keywords for this ad.
Example: utm_term=running+shoes
Campaign Content (utm_content)
Used for A/B testing and content-targeted ads. Use utm_content to differentiate ads or links that point to the same URL.
Examples: utm_content=logolink or utm_content=textlink
Campaign Name (utm_campaign)
Used for keyword analysis. Use utm_campaign to identify a specific product promotion or strategic campaign.
Example: utm_campaign=spring_sale
More can be read here: http://support.google.com/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1033867
Not sure if this is 'industry standard', but at least it's Analytics-supported.