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SEO

What is Canonical URL?

The <link rel="canonical"> tag that tells Google the "main" URL of a page.

Detailed definition

When the same content can be reached at more than one URL (filters, sorting parameters, http/https, www/non-www), it tells Google "this is the main URL for this content". It prevents duplicate content penalties and consolidates link equity on a single URL. Every page should have a canonical (a self-referencing canonical is normal).

Examples

  • /products?sort=price and /products?sort=date are different URLs — the canonical should be /products/.

Related terms

On-Page SEO The SEO optimisation carried out on the page itself: title, meta description, heading hierarchy and content quality. hreflang The link attribute that states which language sits at which URL on multilingual or multi-region sites. Meta Description The short description that appears under the title in Google search results. It directly affects CTR. SERP (Search Engine Results Page) The search engine results page — the mix of organic results, ads and rich snippets the user sees after searching. Google Ads Google's advertising platform — Search, Display, YouTube, Shopping and PMax campaign types.
From the same category

Other terms in the SEO category

hreflang The link attribute that states which language sits at which URL on multilingual or multi-region sites. Meta Description The short description that appears under the title in Google search results. It directly affects CTR. SERP (Search Engine Results Page) The search engine results page — the mix of organic results, ads and rich snippets the user sees after searching. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) The discipline of increasing a website's organic (unpaid) visibility on Google and other search engines. E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) The four criteria Google uses to assess content quality: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust. Core Web Vitals The three main metrics Google uses to measure site performance: LCP, INP and CLS.
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