Google has begun filing bug reports directly against WordPress plugins that generate excessive crawl waste, marking a notable shift in how the search engine addresses technical issues that affect web crawling and indexing.
The development was first reported by Search Engine Journal following comments made by Gary Illyes, a Search Analyst at Google, during an episode of the Search Off the Record podcast.
According to Illyes, Google’s internal crawl team has identified several plugins that unintentionally create large volumes of unnecessary URLs, forcing Googlebot to spend resources crawling pages with little or no value.
Plugins generating unnecessary URLs
Google explained that certain WordPress plugins particularly those used for ecommerce and dynamic functionality automatically append URL parameters that appear to create new pages. In reality, these URLs often display identical content.
Examples include:
- “Add-to-cart” URL parameters
- Action-based URLs triggered by filters or user interactions
- Plugin-generated paths that expand indefinitely
From Google’s perspective, each of these URLs looks like a separate page, even when no meaningful content change exists.
WooCommerce cited as a confirmed case
One confirmed case involved WooCommerce, one of the most widely used ecommerce plugins on WordPress.
Google’s crawl team flagged WooCommerce for generating add-to-cart URLs that significantly expanded crawlable URL space. After Google filed a public bug report, the WooCommerce development team reviewed the issue and released a fix to reduce crawl waste.
Google highlighted this response as an example of effective collaboration between plugin developers and search infrastructure teams.
Crawl waste is a large-scale issue
Google shared internal data showing that crawl inefficiencies remain one of the largest technical challenges on the web:
- 50% of crawl issues are caused by faceted navigation
- 25% of crawl issues come from action-based URL parameters
- Together, these issues account for roughly 75% of crawl waste
Much of this waste originates not from site owners directly, but from third-party plugins that generate URLs automatically.
Other plugins remain unresolved
Google confirmed that it has filed bug reports against additional WordPress plugins, including at least one commercial calendar plugin that created near-infinite URL paths.
As of reporting:
- Some plugin developers have not responded
- Several crawl-related issues remain unresolved
- Affected websites continue to experience crawl inefficiencies
Responsibility still lies with site owners
Despite filing bugs against plugin developers, Google emphasized that site owners remain responsible for managing crawl behavior on their websites.
Google recommends that site owners:
- Block unnecessary parameters using robots.txt
- Monitor crawl activity in Google Search Console
- Regularly audit URLs generated by plugins and themes
Google noted that while it can identify patterns, it cannot assume which URLs a site owner considers valuable unless technical controls are in place.
Why this matters
The move signals a more hands-on approach from Google in addressing web quality issues. Rather than limiting guidance to documentation and best practices, Google is now directly reporting technical problems to software maintainers when large-scale crawl inefficiencies are detected.
For WordPress users and SEO professionals, the development reinforces a growing concern: plugins can quietly introduce technical SEO risks, even when content quality remains high.
