Fix Multiple Question Marks in URL: 30-Second Solution

Your URL has two question marks. Parameter parsing is broken. GA4 shows corrupted data.

Here's the 30-second fix.

The Problem

❌ BROKEN:
site.com?page=1?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc
           ↑    ↑
        First  Second (ERROR!)

Only ONE ? allowed per URL.

The Fix

Step 1: Find the Second ? (10 seconds)

site.com?page=1?utm_source=facebook
           ↑    ↑
        Keep  Change to &

Step 2: Replace with & (10 seconds)

❌ BEFORE:
site.com?page=1?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc

✅ AFTER:
site.com?page=1&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cpc
              ↑
         Changed ? to &

Step 3: Test (10 seconds)

1. Visit corrected URL
2. Check GA4 Real-Time
3. Verify campaign appears

Done.

URL Parameter Rules

✅ CORRECT:
?param1=value1&param2=value2&param3=value3
 ↑            ↑             ↑
 ?            &             &

❌ WRONG:
?param1=value1?param2=value2
 ↑            ↑
 ?            ? (should be &)

Rule: First parameter uses ?, all others use &.

Quick Regex Fix

// Find and fix multiple question marks
function fixMultipleQuestionMarks(url) {
    // Split on first ? to get base and query string
    const parts = url.split('?');
 
    if (parts.length <= 1) return url; // No query string
 
    // Reconstruct: base + ? + query (with ? replaced by &)
    const base = parts[0];
    const query = parts.slice(1).join('&'); // Replace ? with &
 
    return `${"{"}{"{"}base{"}"}{"}"}}?${"{"}{"{"}query{"}"}{"}"}}`;
}
 
// Usage
const broken = 'site.com?page=1?utm_source=facebook';
const fixed = fixMultipleQuestionMarks(broken);
console.log(fixed);
// Output: site.com?page=1&utm_source=facebook

Common Causes

Cause 1: URL Concatenation

// ❌ WRONG
const url = baseUrl + '?' + params;
// If baseUrl already has ?, you get double ?
 
// ✅ RIGHT
const separator = baseUrl.includes('?') ? '&' : '?';
const url = baseUrl + separator + params;

Cause 2: Template Logic Error

<!-- ❌ WRONG -->
<a href="{`{"{"}{"{"}base_url{"}"}{"}"}}`}?{`{"{"}{"{"}utm_params{"}"}{"}"}}`}">Link</a>
<!-- If base_url = "site.com?page=1", you get site.com?page=1?utm_... -->
 
<!-- ✅ RIGHT -->
<a href="{`{"{"}{"{"}base_url{"}"}{"}"}}`}&{`{"{"}{"{"}utm_params{"}"}{"}"}}`}">Link</a>
<!-- Or use conditional logic -->

Prevention Checklist

✅ Check if URL already has ? before adding parameters ✅ Use & for all parameters after the first ✅ Validate URLs before launching campaigns ✅ Test in GA4 Real-Time reports

FAQ

Can I have multiple question marks if I URL-encode them?

The first ? starts the query string. Additional ? must be URL-encoded as %3F if they're part of a value.

What if I have three or more question marks?

Replace all except the first with &.

Will this break my existing links?

Fix the URLs and set up 301 redirects from old (broken) to new (fixed) format if needed.

How do I prevent this in the future?

Always check if a URL contains ? before adding parameters. Use & if ? exists.

Conclusion

Fix multiple question marks: Replace the second (and any additional) ? with &.

❌ site.com?a=1?b=2?c=3
✅ site.com?a=1&b=2&c=3

30 seconds. Perfect tracking restored.

Technical Reference: Multiple Question Marks Validation Rule