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Understanding how search engines work can give you a bigger picture for your own SERP analytics.
Some of the more obvious Google parameters are explained, but if you recognize a query parameter that isn't commented on, please leave your explanation in the comments and we'll add it to this list.
aasb = Unknown
action = Unknown
ad = Unknown
addh = Unknown
adsafe = Unknown
adtest = Ads test mode (when adtest=on, Google treats the query as a test so ad impressions aren’t counted)
adtest-useragent = Unknown
aec = Unknown
aep = Unknown
affdom = Unknown
agsabk = Unknown
agsad = Unknown
aioh = Unknown
ais = Unknown
akm = Unknown
amp = Unknown
ampcct = Unknown
ampidx = Unknown
ampru = Unknown
amps = Unknown
app = Unknown
appent = Unknown
aqs = Assisted Query Stats (used for logging autocomplete suggestions, appears when searching via Chrome omnibox) (Not confirmed)
ar = Unknown
arqrcd = Unknown
arv = Unknown
as_author = Unknown
as_drrb = Unknown
as_dt = Unknown
as_epq = Advanced Search: exact phrase
as_eq = Advanced Search: none of these words
as_filetype = Advanced Search: restrict to specified filetype
as_ft = Advanced Search: file type filter mode (i or ex for include/exclude)
as_maxd = Unknown
as_maxm = Unknown
as_mind = Unknown
as_minm = Unknown
as_nhi = Advanced Search: numeric range upper bound
as_nlo = Advanced Search: numeric range lower bound
as_nloc = Unknown
as_nsrc = Unknown
as_occt = Advanced Search: where the terms occur (title, text, URL, links)
as_oq = Advanced Search: any of these words
as_q = Advanced Search: all these words (equivalent to q)
as_qdr = Advanced Search: results timeframe or date restriction
as_rights = Advanced Search: usage rights filter (e.g., cc) (Not confirmed)
as_scoring = Unknown
as_sitesearch = Advanced Search: limit results to a site or domain
as_st = Unknown
asid = Unknown
asift = Unknown
atp = Unknown
atvm = Unknown
authuser = Unknown
avx = Unknown
bav = Unknown
bih = Browser internal height (the height of the browser window in pixels) (Not confirmed)
biw = Browser internal width (the width of the browser window in pixels, sent by the client) (Not confirmed)
bmp = Unknown
br = Unknown
brd = Unknown
bret = Unknown
bs = Unknown
bshm = Unknown
bshope = Unknown
bsp = Unknown
bsq = Unknown
bvm = Unknown (possibly a tracker for browser version or location) (Guess)
c2coff = Unknown
cad = Unknown (possibly an affiliate, referral or client token) (Guess)
canvasid = Unknown
capabilities = Unknown
cct_optout = Unknown
ccurl = Unknown
cd = Result rank index (the position of the clicked search result, e.g., cd=3 for the 3rd result) (Not confirmed)
cds = Unknown
cf = Unknown
cfsqs = Unknown
changed_loc = Unknown
channel = Channel/context identifier for the search (e.g., “fs” for Firefox search plugin channel) (Not confirmed)
chips = Unknown
chrq = Unknown
clie = Unknown
client = Client application identifier (indicates which app or browser made the search, e.g., “firefox” for Firefox’s search bar) (Not confirmed)
cmpsr_imgurl = Unknown
cmpsr_name = Unknown
coie = Unknown
complete = Unknown
convo_fpr_esc = Unknown
corpus = Unknown
cp = Unknown
cr = Country restrict (limits results to pages from specified country region(s), e.g., cr=countryUS)
cs = colour scheme (0 = light, 1 = dark)
csst = Unknown
csui = Unknown
csuio = Unknown
csuir = Unknown
ct = Click type or location (indicates where on the page the result was clicked) (Not confirmed)
ctb = Unknown
ctf = Unknown
ctsctx = Unknown
ctxs = Unknown
ctzn = Unknown
data_push_epoch = Unknown
dbl = Unknown
dcntid = Unknown
dcr = Unknown
ddl = Unknown
deb = SERP debug parameter for internal use. Enables various internal debug overlays. Different numeric/alpha variants switch on different debug channels # Pedro Dias
debtime = Unknown
depid = Unknown
devicelang = Unknown
devloc = Unknown
docid = Unknown
domains = Unknown
dpl = Unknown
dpr = Unknown
dq = Unknown
dr = Unknown
ds = Unknown
dthp = Unknown
duul = Unknown
e = Unknown
ech = Unknown
edbg = Unknown
editnurl = Unknown
editourl = Unknown
editq = Unknown
editrt = Unknown
eeui = Unknown
ei = Search query ID (an alphanumeric ID for the session/query, encodes a timestamp and other data for internal tracking) (Not confirmed)
elrc = Unknown
entrypoint = Unknown
eqld = Unknown
ertn = Unknown
espv = Unknown
esrch = Unknown
eval_id = Unknown
exam_sel = Unknown
exam_tab_sel = Unknown
exam_tier_id = Unknown
exam_vid_cat = Unknown
exp = Unknown
exp_uid = Unknown
expflags = Unknown
expid = Unknown
expid_c = Unknown
explain = Unknown
expnd = Unknown
exprollouts = Unknown
fakeads = Unknown
fbs = Unknown
fbx = Unknown
fbxst = Unknown
fc = Unknown
fcq = Unknown
fcv = Unknown
fesp = Unknown
fheit = Unknown
filter = Duplicate filter toggle (controls filtering of similar results; 0 = show duplicates, 1 = filter duplicates)
fir = Unknown
flav = Unknown
flbr = Unknown
fll = Unknown
fp = Unknown
frcnw = Unknown
frendfilter = Unknown
frozen_clock = Unknown
fshp = Unknown
fspn = Unknown
fsr = Unknown
fstat = Unknown
fz = Unknown
garc = Unknown
gbpv = Unknown
gbv = Google Basic Version flag (controls use of a basic HTML version with no JavaScript; e.g., gbv=1 for basic mode) (Not confirmed)
gc = Unknown
gcc = Unknown
gcs = Unknown
gib = Unknown
gko_vi = Unknown
gl = Geolocation country code (boosts results from a specified country, e.g., gl=US for United States)
gll = Unknown
glslf = Unknown
gm = Unknown
gpc = Unknown
gr = Unknown
gs_id = Unknown
gs_ivs = Unknown
gs_l = Unknown (likely indicates the search context or type, such as web, image, etc.) (Guess)
gs_lcp = Unknown
gs_lp = Unknown (contains combined info like the search query and client in a single parameter) (Not confirmed)
gs_mss = Unknown
gs_ri = Unknown
gs_rn = Unknown
gs_ssp = Unknown
gsas = Unknown
gsc = Unknown
gsessionid = Unknown
gstk = Unknown
hci = Unknown
hgi = Unknown
hl = Interface language (UI language of the search page, e.g., hl=en for English)
hlvts = Unknown
host = Unknown
hotel_dates = Unknown
hotel_ds = Unknown
hotel_lqi = Unknown
hotel_lqtkn = Unknown
hotel_occupancy = Unknown
hotswaps = Unknown
hpcs = Unknown
hq = Unknown
hs = Unknown
htf = Unknown
htin = Unknown
htpt = Unknown
hts = Unknown
htssns = Unknown
htst = Unknown
hw = Unknown
iar = Unknown
ibp = Alternative render mode (alters how certain content is displayed, used for special page layouts) (Not confirmed)
ictx = Unknown
ie = Input encoding (character encoding of the query, default UTF-8)
ig = Unknown
igu = Interface mode (Ignore Google User" basically ignoring cookies and user consent an be used to logout without really logging out) // Valentin Pletzer
imgcolor = Unknown
imgil = Unknown
imgrefurl = Unknown
imgsz = Unknown
imgtype = Unknown
imgurl = Unknown
imgwo = Unknown
inlang = Unknown
inm = Unknown
interests = Unknown
ion = Unknown
iosla = Unknown
ircip = Unknown
is_shopping_entity = Unknown
isc = Unknown
isn = Unknown
ix = Unknown
jbr = Unknown
jfr = Unknown
jlsg = Unknown
jrt = Unknown
jsmode = Unknown
jspept = Unknown
jspt = Unknown
jsti = Unknown
kapk = Unknown
kgmid = Knowledge Graph ID (specifies a Google Knowledge Graph entity to fetch results for, can override the query term) (Not confirmed)
kgs = Unknown
kptab = Unknown
last_qid = Unknown
lcif = Unknown
lei = Unknown
lep = Unknown
lfid = Unknown
lid = Unknown
lite = Unknown
llpbb = Unknown
llpgabe = Unknown
llploc = Unknown
lns_aid = Unknown
lns_iis = Unknown
lns_img = Unknown
lns_int = Unknown
lns_mode = Unknown
lns_surface = Unknown
lns_tqs = Unknown
lns_vfs = Unknown
lnsid = Unknown
lnu = Unknown
lpis = Unknown
lpsid = Unknown
lqi = Unknown
lr = Language restrict (limits results to pages in specified language(s), e.g., lr=lang_en)
lrad = Unknown
lrfsid = Unknown
lsa = Unknown
lsack = Unknown
lsessionid = Unknown
lsf = Unknown
lsft = Unknown
lsisr = Unknown
lsspp = Unknown
lsthwfi = Unknown
lstodlfi = Unknown
lsts2b = Unknown
lsts2c = Unknown
lstsd = Unknown
ltkn = Unknown
ltype = Unknown
luack = Unknown
ludocid = Unknown
luul = Unknown
lxcar = Unknown
mactx = Unknown
madse = Unknown
mapsl = Unknown
masfc = Unknown
mat = Unknown
mc_action = Unknown
mc_qid = Unknown
mci = Unknown
mco = Unknown
mcp = Unknown
mcq = Unknown
mcur = Unknown
mdc = Unknown
mergelabel = Unknown
meta = Unknown
mfx = Unknown
mgtyp = Unknown
mid = Unknown
mlp = Unknown
mlrid = Unknown
mlro = Unknown
mlros = Unknown
mmorq = Unknown
mmsc = Unknown
mmsm = Unknown
mmso = Unknown
mods = Unknown
mq = Unknown
mrc = Unknown
mrq = Unknown
mrqei = Unknown
mrr = Unknown
msig = Unknown
mstk = Unknown
muul = Unknown
mvs = Unknown
mxt = Unknown
ndsp = Unknown
near = Unknown
nef = Unknown
nem = Unknown
nep = Unknown
newwindow = Open results in new window setting (newwindow=1 if user prefers results to open in a new tab/window) (Not confirmed)
nfpr = No auto-correct (if set to 1, prevents Google from automatically correcting spelling or showing corrected results) (Not confirmed)
nhr = Unknown
nirf = Unknown
no_sw_cr = Unknown
noa = Unknown
norc = Unknown
nord = Unknown
nossl = Unknown
nps = Unknown
npsic = Unknown
ntyp = Unknown
num = Number of results to display (e.g., num=50 shows 50 results per page)
nuul = Unknown
oe = Output encoding (character encoding for the results, default UTF-8)
og = Unknown
ogdeb = Unknown
ohl = Unknown
oi = Unknown
oll = Unknown
opi = Unknown
optaqua = Unknown
optd = Unknown
opti = Unknown
optq = Unknown
opts = Unknown
optt = Option toggler that can selectively disable specific ranking / UI components. # Pedro Dias
oq = Original query (the query text typed into the search box before using suggestions) (Not confirmed)
orcl = Unknown
ormc = Unknown
ormq = Unknown
orp = Unknown
ors = Unknown
orsc = Unknown
osm = Unknown
ospn = Unknown
output = Unknown
oz = Unknown
padb = Unknown
padt = Unknown
pbx = Unknown
pcmp = Unknown
pcr = Unknown
pcs = Unknown
pdl = Unknown
pdo = Unknown
pdoi = Unknown
peek_pws = Unknown
pei = Unknown
pf = Unknown
pga = Unknown
phdesc = Unknown
phets = Unknown
piis = Unknown
pjf = Unknown
plf = Unknown
plugin = Unknown
pnp = Unknown
pps = Unknown
pq = Unknown
prdl = Unknown
prds = Unknown
prmd = Parameter for suggested verticals (controls which vertical search options are shown in the interface) (Not confirmed)
prmdo = Unknown
prog = Unknown
psb = Unknown
psgn = Unknown
psi = Unknown
psj = Unknown
psoc = Unknown
pstick = Unknown
purs = Unknown
pvf = Unknown
pvh = Unknown
pvq = Unknown
pws = Personalization setting (controls personalized results; pws=0 disables personalized search results) (Not confirmed)
pwst = Unknown
q = Search query (the keywords or terms entered by the user)
qf = Unknown
qid = Unknown
qpaddr = Unknown
qr = Unknown
qsd = Unknown
qsubts = Unknown
quantum = Unknown
query = Unknown
ram_mb = Unknown
rapt = Unknown
rcid = Unknown
rciv = Unknown
rct = Unknown (possibly related to Google Ads click tracking) (Guess)
reamenities = Unknown
redays = Unknown
redir = Unknown
redir_esc = Unknown
ref = Unknown
reft_t = Unknown
remaxbath = Unknown
remaxbed = Unknown
remaxprice = Unknown
remid = Unknown
remids = Unknown
reminbath = Unknown
reminbed = Unknown
reminprice = Unknown
rendr = Unknown
reqflt = Unknown
rerect = Unknown
reresidence = Unknown
resnum = Unknown
restrict = Unknown
revid = Unknown
review = Unknown
rf = Unknown
rflfq = Unknown
rlakp = Unknown
rldimm = Unknown
rlha = Unknown
rlhac = Unknown
rlhsc = Unknown
rlla = Unknown
rllag = Unknown
rllas = Unknown
rlms = Unknown
rls = Client release/locale string (provides client and localization info, e.g., browser build and language) (Not confirmed)
rlst = Unknown
rlz = RLZ tracking code (used by Google to track Chrome/Toolbar distribution and marketing info) (Not confirmed)
rot = Unknown
sa = Search action indicator (represents user search behavior or action taken, exact purpose not officially documented) (Not confirmed)
sab = Unknown
sabf = Unknown
sabgci = Unknown
sabpf = Unknown
sabpi = Unknown
sabplaceid = Unknown
sabpnf = Unknown
sabvi = Unknown
sadv = Unknown
safe = SafeSearch setting (controls adult content filtering; “active” to enable filtering, “off” to disable)
safeui = Unknown
san_opt_out_data = Unknown
san_opt_out_request_mode = Unknown
san_opt_out_site = Unknown
sarq = Unknown
sbid = Unknown
sca_esv = Unknown
schips = Unknown
scis = Unknown
sclient = Search client (identifies the interface client, e.g., “gws-wiz” for Google Web Search wizard) (Not confirmed)
scoring = Unknown
scsr = Unknown
search = Unknown
sei = Unknown
sel_tier_id = Unknown
serdesk = Unknown
sert = Unknown
sesinv = Unknown
sessionid = Unknown
sfm = Unknown
shbud = Unknown
shdeb = Unknown
shem = Unknown
shmd = Unknown
shmds = Unknown
shndl = Unknown
shopbg = Unknown
shopmd = Unknown
shoprs = Shopping Graph base64 encoded data
shopst = Unknown
shortlistmids = Unknown
si = Knowledge Graph section indicator (used to load a specific Knowledge Graph tab or section in results) (Not confirmed)
sideb = Unknown
sidesearch = Unknown
siex_p = Unknown
sigct = Unknown
signc = Unknown
signedin = Unknown
sigpc = Unknown
site = Unknown
site_flavored = Unknown
sitesearch = Unknown
sjc = Unknown
sjcp = Unknown
skew_host = Unknown
skew_hotswaps = Unknown
skip = Unknown
sla = Unknown
sll = Unknown
smstk = Unknown
snopt = Unknown
sns = Unknown
sorc = Unknown
source = Source of the search (e.g., “hp” for homepage, indicates where the search originated) (Not confirmed)
source_ip = Unknown
sourceid = Source identifier (type of source or client that initiated the search, e.g., browser or toolbar) (Not confirmed)
sp = Unknown
sp_ae = Unknown
sp_aimrs = Unknown
sp_hpep = Unknown
sp_hpte = Unknown
sp_imghp = Unknown
spell = Unknown
spknlang = Unknown
spvr = Unknown
sqi = Unknown
src_amt = Unknown
src_curr = Unknown
srds = Unknown
srpd = Unknown
ssb = Unknown
ssi = Unknown
ssl_dbg = Unknown
sspn = Unknown
ssrs = Unknown
sssc = Unknown
sstk = Unknown
st = Unknown
start = Starting index of results (0-indexed offset for results, e.g., start=10 to begin from the 11th result)
std = Unknown
stefc = Unknown
stegc = Unknown
stegt = Unknown
stensi = Unknown
stent = Unknown
stept = Unknown
stick = Unknown
str = Unknown
strmmid = Unknown
sts = Unknown
sub_sel = Unknown
subcat = Unknown
subject_id = Unknown
sugexp = Unknown
suggest = Unknown
sugvcr = Unknown
superroot = Unknown
surl = Unknown
sxsrf = Security token (contains an encoded token and timestamp, likely for anti-CSRF or internal security) (Guess)
sz = Unknown
szl = Unknown
tab = Unknown
tacc = Unknown
tbas = Unknown
tbcp = Unknown
tbm = Search type (vertical search mode, e.g., tbm=isch for images, tbm=nws for news)
tbnid = Unknown
tbo = Toggles search tools visibility (e.g., tbo=1 to always show the search tools panel) (Not confirmed)
tbs = Search tools/filters parameter (used to apply filters like time ranges, e.g., tbs=qdr:w for past week) (Not confirmed)
tcfs = Unknown
tch = Unknown
tci = Unknown
tel = Unknown
tfs = Unknown
tok = Unknown
tr_d = Unknown
tr_dest = Unknown
tr_dest_latlng = Unknown
tr_dest_q = Unknown
tr_dest_st = Unknown
tr_or = Unknown
tr_or_latlng = Unknown
tr_or_q = Unknown
tr_or_st = Unknown
tr_t = Unknown
trnd = Unknown
tsdo = Unknown
tsq = Unknown
tt_class = Unknown
tt_date = Unknown
tt_destination = Unknown
tt_lcid = Unknown
tt_lfid = Unknown
tt_origin = Unknown
tt_pnr = Unknown
tt_pnr_src = Unknown
tt_pnr_src_id = Unknown
tt_quota = Unknown
tt_tn = Unknown
tt_trainnumber = Unknown
ttdexpref = Unknown
ttdif = Unknown
ttdrfmt = Unknown
ttsm = Unknown
ttsp = Unknown
twd_surface = Unknown
twd_tok = Unknown
twd_type = Unknown
uact = User action code (identifies the type of user action that triggered the search, value is numeric) (Guess)
ucbcb = Unknown
uclite = Unknown
udf = Unknown
udm = Universal Display Mode parameter for controlling the type of Google Search results shown (e.g., web, images, news, AI Overviews, etc.) // Ömer Evre
uds = Unknown
uid = Unknown
uideb = Unknown
ulrc = Unknown
ulv = Unknown
um = Unknown
upa = Unknown
useragent = Unknown
userid = Unknown
usg = Unknown (possibly an encrypted signature or token for the URL) (Guess)
utm_campaign = Urchin Tag Manager campaign tag for analytics
utm_content = Urchin Tag Manager content tag for analytics
utm_medium = Urchin Tag Manager medium tag for analytics
utm_source = Urchin Tag Manager source tag for analytics
utm_term = Urchin Tag Manager term tag for analytics
uuld = Unknown
uule = Encoded location parameter (encodes a specific location or latitude/longitude to localize search results) (Not confirmed)
v = Unknown
vacasync = Unknown
vaccardtype = Unknown
vacdatatype = Unknown
vachier = Unknown
vaclocmid = Unknown
vacper = Unknown
vactab = Unknown
ved = Encoded tracking info for clicked element (carries data about the result link or element that was clicked) (Not confirmed)
vgi = Unknown
vidcip = Unknown
vis = Unknown
vit = Unknown
vsdim = Unknown
vsint = Unknown
vsrid = Unknown
vuid = Unknown
wbsk = Unknown
wf = Unknown
wphc-agsa = Unknown
wrapid = Unknown
xhr = Unknown
zx = Cache-busting random number appended to requests (Guess)
Author: «Mark Williams-Cook»
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