Google’s Crawl Team Filed Bugs Against WordPress Plugins
In a recent development, Google’s crawl team has taken proactive measures by filing bugs directly against certain WordPress plugins that are known to waste crawl budget at scale. This initiative aims to improve the efficiency of web crawling and enhance the overall performance of websites using these plugins.
Background of the Issue
During a recent episode of the Search Off the Record podcast, Gary Illyes, an analyst at Google, discussed the crawl team’s findings. The team identified that action parameters, particularly those associated with the WooCommerce plugin, were a significant source of crawl waste. These parameters, such as the add-to-cart URL parameters, were found to be doubling the site URL, leading to unnecessary strain on crawl budgets.
Specific Findings
According to Google’s internal year-end crawl issue report, action parameters accounted for approximately 25% of all crawl issues reported in 2025. This statistic highlights the scale of the problem, with only faceted navigation issues ranking higher at 50%. Together, these two categories represent around three-quarters of all crawl issues flagged by Google last year.
The Impact of Action Parameters
Action parameters often create what appear to be new URLs by appending text such as ?add_to_cart=true. This can lead to a situation where parameters stack, effectively doubling or tripling the crawlable URL space on a site. Illyes emphasized that these parameters are frequently injected by CMS plugins rather than being intentionally created by site owners.
Response from WooCommerce
Upon identifying the issue with WooCommerce’s add-to-cart parameters, Google’s crawl team filed a bug report. WooCommerce responded promptly by implementing a fix, demonstrating a commitment to improving the user experience and reducing crawl waste. Illyes noted that the quick turnaround from WooCommerce was commendable.
Challenges with Other Plugins
While WooCommerce acted swiftly, other plugin developers have not been as responsive. Google has reported that a bug filed against a separate action-parameter plugin remains unclaimed, and outreach to the developer of a commercial calendar plugin that generates infinite URL paths has gone unanswered. This lack of responsiveness from some developers poses a challenge for website owners who rely on these plugins.
Why This Matters
The issue of URL parameters is not new; it has been a topic of concern for Google for some time. Despite previous warnings and the formalization of faceted navigation guidelines, the same issues continue to dominate crawl reports. This indicates that the problem is deeply embedded within the plugin layer, which can create significant challenges for websites utilizing eCommerce plugins.
Illyes pointed out that Googlebot cannot determine the usefulness of a URL space unless it has crawled a substantial portion of that space. By the time website owners notice server strain, the damage may already be done. Therefore, Google consistently recommends using robots.txt to proactively block parameter URLs, which is more effective than waiting for issues to arise.
Looking Ahead
Google’s initiative to file bugs against open-source plugins could potentially help reduce crawl waste at the source. By addressing these issues directly with plugin developers, Google aims to foster a more efficient crawling environment for all websites. The full podcast episode featuring Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt provides further insights into this topic and is available with a transcript for those interested in a deeper understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Action parameters are URL parameters added by plugins that can create multiple variations of a single URL, such as those used for adding items to a cart. These parameters can lead to excessive URLs being crawled, wasting crawl budget.
Crawl budget refers to the number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on a website within a given timeframe. Efficient management of crawl budget is crucial for ensuring that important pages are indexed and ranked appropriately.
Website owners can manage crawl issues by using robots.txt to block unnecessary URL parameters, regularly updating plugins, and monitoring crawl reports to identify and address issues promptly.
Note: Keeping plugins updated and monitoring crawl behavior is essential for maintaining website performance and search visibility.
