Faceted Navigation
Faceted navigation lets users filter products by multiple traits at once. This system creates filter pages that help visitors find items through checkboxes and dropdown menus.
Online stores use this system to manage large product catalogs, but it causes Technical SEO problems. Search engines get confused by endless URL Structure options that hurt Crawlability and Indexability.
Google's official guidance recommends using Robots.txt to block filter URLs or URL fragments since search engines ignore the # portion. Canonicalization helps point filtered pages to main versions while Nofollow/Dofollow controls which filter links get followed.
Smart setup saves crawl budget while keeping user experience smooth through proper Site Structure planning. Many sites also use Schema Markup to help search engines understand product relationships without relying on complex filtering systems.