diff --git a/Classes/Middleware/RequestCacheMiddleware.php b/Classes/Middleware/RequestCacheMiddleware.php
index dd9c6dc..02c6028 100644
--- a/Classes/Middleware/RequestCacheMiddleware.php
+++ b/Classes/Middleware/RequestCacheMiddleware.php
@@ -46,12 +46,24 @@ class RequestCacheMiddleware implements MiddlewareInterface
      */
     protected $ignoredQueryParams;
 
+    /**
+     * @var array
+     * @Flow\InjectConfiguration(path="request.queryParams.respect")
+     */
+    protected $respectedQueryParams;
+
     /**
      * @var array
      * @Flow\InjectConfiguration(path="request.cookieParams.ignore")
      */
     protected $ignoredCookieParams;
 
+    /**
+     * @var array
+     * @Flow\InjectConfiguration(path="request.cookieParams.respect")
+     */
+    protected $respectedCookieParams;
+
     /**
      * @var boolean
      * @Flow\InjectConfiguration(path="maxPublicCacheTime")
@@ -127,13 +139,17 @@ protected function getCacheIdentifierForRequestIfCacheable(ServerRequestInterfac
         $requestQueryParams = $request->getQueryParams();
         $allowedQueryParams = [];
         $ignoredQueryParams = [];
+        $respectedQueryParams = [];
         $disallowedQueryParams = [];
         foreach ($requestQueryParams as $key => $value) {
             switch (true) {
                 case (in_array($key, $this->allowedQueryParams)):
                     $allowedQueryParams[$key] = $value;
                     break;
-                case (in_array($key, $this->ignoredQueryParams)):
+                case (in_array($key, $this->ignoredQueryParams) && empty($this->respectedQueryParams)):
+                    $ignoredQueryParams[$key] = $value;
+                    break;
+                case (!in_array($key, $this->respectedQueryParams) && empty($this->ignoredQueryParams)):
                     $ignoredQueryParams[$key] = $value;
                     break;
                 default:
@@ -148,7 +164,9 @@ protected function getCacheIdentifierForRequestIfCacheable(ServerRequestInterfac
         $requestCookieParams = $request->getCookieParams();
         $disallowedCookieParams = [];
         foreach ($requestCookieParams as $key => $value) {
-            if (!in_array($key, $this->ignoredCookieParams)) {
+            if (!in_array($key, $this->ignoredCookieParams) && !empty($this->ignoredCookieParams) && empty($this->respectedCookieParams)) {
+                $disallowedCookieParams[$key] = $value;
+            } else if (in_array($key, $this->respectedCookieParams) && empty($this->ignoredCookieParams)) {
                 $disallowedCookieParams[$key] = $value;
             }
         }
diff --git a/Configuration/Settings.yaml b/Configuration/Settings.yaml
index 641dcfe..e35f258 100644
--- a/Configuration/Settings.yaml
+++ b/Configuration/Settings.yaml
@@ -16,9 +16,22 @@ Flowpack:
       cookieParams:
         # ignored cookie params exclude cookies that are handled by the frontend
         # and are not relevant for the backend. A usecase would be gdpr consent cookies
-        # if they are only used on the client side
+        # if they are only used on the client side.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'consent_settings'
+        #  => If the cookie "consent_settings" is present, it will be cached.
+        #     But if a "_ga" cookie is present, the request will not be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "respect" is empty!
         ignore: []
 
+        # respected cookie params are relevant for the backend and will skip the caching.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'Neos_Session'
+        #  => If the "Neos_Session" cookie is present in the request, it will not be cached.
+        #     But if a "_ga" cookie is present, the request will be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "ignore" is empty!
+        respect: []
+
       # a request will only qualify for caching if it only contains queryParams that
       # are allowed or ignored. All other arguments will prevent caching.
       queryParams:
@@ -29,8 +42,22 @@ Flowpack:
         # ignored arguments are not part of the cache identifier but do not
         # prevent caching either. Use this for arguments that are meaningless for
         # the backend like utm_campaign
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'utm_campaign'
+        #  => If the "utm_campaign" argument is present in the request, it will be cached.
+        #     But if a "utm_source" argument is present, the request will not be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "respect" is empty!
         ignore: []
 
+        # respected arguments are relevant for the backend and will skip the caching.
+        # All other arguments will be ignored and cached as if they weren't there.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'search'
+        #  => If the "search" argument is present in the request, it will not be cached.
+        #     But if a "utm_source" argument is present, the request will be cached as if the argument wouldn't be there.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "ignore" is empty!
+        respect: []
+
 Neos:
   Flow:
     http:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f30a118..2ea1ac8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -29,9 +29,22 @@ Flowpack:
       cookieParams:
         # ignored cookie params exclude cookies that are handled by the frontend
         # and are not relevant for the backend. A usecase would be gdpr consent cookies
-        # if they are only used on the client side
+        # if they are only used on the client side.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'consent_settings'
+        #  => If the cookie "consent_settings" is present, it will be cached.
+        #     But if a "_ga" cookie is present, the request will not be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "respect" is empty!
         ignore: []
 
+        # respected cookie params are relevant for the backend and will skip the caching.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'Neos_Session'
+        #  => If the "Neos_Session" cookie is present in the request, it will not be cached.
+        #     But if a "_ga" cookie is present, the request will be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "ignore" is empty!
+        respect: []
+
       # a request will only qualify for caching if it only contains queryParams that
       # are allowed or ignored. All other arguments will prevent caching.
       queryParams:
@@ -42,7 +55,21 @@ Flowpack:
         # ignored arguments are not part of the cache identifier but do not
         # prevent caching either. Use this for arguments that are meaningless for
         # the backend like utm_campaign
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'utm_campaign'
+        #  => If the "utm_campaign" argument is present in the request, it will be cached.
+        #     But if a "utm_source" argument is present, the request will not be cached.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "respect" is empty!
         ignore: []
+
+        # respected arguments are relevant for the backend and will skip the caching.
+        # All other arguments will be ignored and cached as if they weren't there.
+        # Example:
+        #  - 'search'
+        #  => If the "search" argument is present in the request, it will not be cached.
+        #     But if a "utm_source" argument is present, the request will be cached as if the argument wouldn't be there.
+        # Important: Only evaluated if "ignore" is empty!
+        respect: []
 ```
 
 You can also move the cache backend to something faster if available, to improve performance even more.