Do I use parameters in Google webmaster tools correct?

Question

We've created an affiliate panel for our new website. To make sure all affiliate links will not be considered as duplicate content, we are using the 'URL Parameters' option in webmaster tools.

In the example affiliate URL's below, you can see that an affiliate URL can have 1 or 2 parameters:

• 1 parameter: https://psdtohtml.net/?referral=541390 (referral)
• 2 parameters: https://psdtohtml.net/?referral=541390&tag=stackoverflow (referral & tag)

As you can see in this screenshot (http://gyazo.com/9b5224ecc82528d6055d71bdb6aa7565) we've added the parameter 'referral' and the parameter 'tag' as an URL parameter in Google webmaster tools, but I can't find a way to check if that is working like desired (so all 'juice' from the affiliate links will be forwarded to the main domain and the affiliate links won't be considered as duplicate content).

Is there anyone who has experience with this and who can tell us if this is setup correctly?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I'm no expert, but when I look here: http://www.shoutmeloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/parameterhandling.jpg I think you've used the parameters the right way.

Maybe just wait until Google checks the URL's?

Answer 2

A more reliable approach would be to use canonical tags on those pages that indicate the non affiliate version as the correct one.