Google Search console

colak · 2025-10-02 02:51:45

I’m getting a lot of pages, not yet indexed in Google’s Search console with an ?m=5 appended at the end. ie https://www.site.tld/path/to/article?m=5

Does someone know how Google found such pages, and what is the ?m=5 string all about?

For now I created an htaccess redirect directive to lead them back to their canonical url.

RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^m=\d+$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /$1? [R=301,L]

colak · 2025-10-02 14:09:28

I had to ask Google’s AI for this. Here’s its answer:

The ?m=5 string in a Google Search Console URL refers to a Google Mobile Search result page, indicating the user came from a mobile device. The ?m= parameter, followed by a number, signifies that the search was performed on a mobile phone or tablet, with the number potentially denoting a specific mobile experience or algorithm version, though the exact meaning of 5 is not detailed by the search results.
Understanding the Components:

?: This character introduces query parameters to a URL.

m=: This parameter indicates that the search originated from a mobile device.
5: While not explicitly defined in the search results, this could represent a specific mobile search result experience or an internal Google identifier.

What it Means for You:
When you see ?m=5 in your Google Search Console reports, it tells you that a significant number of your site’s visitors are coming from mobile devices. This is valuable information for understanding your audience and ensuring your website is optimized for mobile users.
Why it’s Important:

Audience Insight: It helps you understand the types of devices your users are accessing your site from.

Mobile Optimization: It highlights the need to ensure your website provides a seamless and user-friendly experience on mobile devices

Which is all fair and good. But, why are they listing the urls with the strings not generated by the cms for their search results? I think this is ridiculous.

phiw13 · 2025-10-03 07:30:49

Weird…

To be clear: you see those ?m5 URI in your site’s logs, with referrer pointing to G-search?

Is that recent? I do not see those, I think

colak · 2025-10-03 08:39:03

phiw13 wrote #340818:

Weird…

To be clear: you see those ?m5 URI in your site’s logs, with referrer pointing to G-search?

Is that recent? I do not see those, I think

Hi Philippe,
I see those in the Google search console, with the list of urls Google plans to index.

phiw13 · 2025-10-03 09:19:57

colak wrote #340820:

Hi Philippe,
I see those in the Google search console, with the list of urls Google plans to index.

Ah, OK, those URL’s appear in the search console as “we are ready to index those pages.” The query string then indicates “we’ll be using a small-screen device mimicking bot”.

Maybe not much to worry about ? That doesn’t mean the regular visitors will see those URL-with-query-string.

colak · 2025-10-03 14:08:03

phiw13 wrote #340821:

Ah, OK, those URL’s appear in the search console as “we are ready to index those pages.” The query string then indicates “we’ll be using a small-screen device mimicking bot”.

Maybe not much to worry about ? That doesn’t mean the regular visitors will see those URL-with-query-string.

I do not worry about it very much but I did find some bookmarked urls elsewhere with the string attached to them. That is why I am redirecting them to their canonical addresses.

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#1 2025-10-02 02:51:45