Why is a URL with ?nw_seo_settings= indexed in Google?

Squirrly SEO and the Advanced Pack don’t add a nw_seo_settings parameter to any URL, so it comes from another plugin or from your theme.

Google can index such a URL when a link with the parameter points to it. The canonical link on the page tells Google which address to keep.

Check the canonical of that URL

1. Open the URL with the parameter and view the page source.
2. Search for rel="canonical". With Add Canonical Meta Link on, Squirrly writes the page’s own URL there, without the parameter.
3. If the canonical is missing or has the parameter, check Add Canonical Meta Link in Squirrly > Technical SEO > SEO Metas, and Load SEO Metas for that post type in Squirrly > Optimize > Automation.

Add ?sq_seo=off to the URL to see the page without Squirrly’s metas, as Check METAs with and without Squirrly SEO shows.

Stop the parameter and ask for a new crawl

1. Find the plugin or the theme option that adds nw_seo_settings to your links, and switch it off or remove it.
2. In Google Search Console, inspect the URL with the parameter and click Request Indexing, so Google reads the canonical again.

Related tutorials

• Add Custom Canonical Link: point one page to another URL.
• SEO Metas: the canonical, title and robots metas.