How to indicate the canonical URL of the site in Google: Methods and recommendations

To correctly designate the preferred canonical URL for duplicate or similar pages of your site in Google, you can apply several ways. Their force of influence on the choice of the canonical address is different and is presented in decreasing order:

Redirects: The most significant signal indicating Google, which URL is considered canonical for your site.
Link with the attribute Rel = "Canonical": a strong pointer to the preferred URL of your site.
Inclusion of URL in Sitemap: a less powerful signal that helps to promote the necessary pages of your site in Google.

These methods can work together, strengthening each other. The use of several methods at once increases the likelihood of choosing Google exactly the canonical URL that you indicated for your site.

Although the use of such methods is desirable, it is not necessary - Google independently chooses the optimal version of the URL to display in the search results. If you use the content management system that does not allow you to directly change, try to find the settings to specify the canonical URL of your site (for example, searching for information about the canonical element settings in your CMS).

Why indicate the canonical URL of the site in Google

Although for your site, an indication of a canonical URL is not always critical, there are several significant reasons for a clear designation of the preferred page address among duplicates or similar options:

To control which URL of your site will be shown in the search results. You can choose the address that you want to promote, avoiding complex or parameterized options.
To combine SEO signals from similar pages of your site: links that lead to different versions of the pages will be taken into account for the chosen canonical URL.
To simplify the collection and analysis of metrics by the specific content of your site, if there is a lot of URL, it is more difficult to obtain united data.
To optimize the time of scanning your site with search robots, directing them to unique and important content, and not to duplicate pages.

The main recommendations for the canonization of the URL of your site in Google

When using any URL canonization methods for your site, it is important to adhere to the following rules:

Do not use the Robots.txt file to designate the canonical URL.
Do not use the URL removal tool for canonization purposes - it hides the pages from the search completely.
Do not assign different canonical URLs with the same page using different techniques (for example, in Sitemap and Rel = "Canonical" there should be the same addresses).
Do not indicate the canonical URLs with fragments (#), since Google does not support them for canonization.
Avoid using Noindex to select a canonical page - this will completely eliminate the index page. It is preferable to use REL = "Canonical".
If you use hreflang for a multi -loser site, the canonical URL should be in the same language or have the closest language version.
Always bind the internal links to the canonical URL of your site to strengthen the signal of the preferred address.

Comparison of the methods of indicating the canonical URL of the site in Google

Below is a comparison of the methods that can be used to specify the canonical URL of your site, with a description of their advantages and disadvantages:

Rel = "Canonical" element in your site

Add to the section <head> each duplicate page tag <link rel="canonical"> indicating the preferred URL of your site.

Pros: Suitable for an unlimited number of duplicate pages.
Cons: it is difficult to maintain in large sites with frequent URL changes, it works only with pages (for other files you can use the HTTP header).

HTTP heading REL = "Canonical" for the site

You can specify the canonical URL through the HTTP heading, which does not increase the page size and is suitable for any formats, including PDF.

Pros: does not increase the volume of code, supports any number of takes.
Cons: It is also complicated in support with great changes in the structure of the site.

Using sitemap to specify the canonical URL of the site

Add the canonical pages of your site to Sitemap URL to tell Google the most important addresses.

Pros: it is convenient to support, especially for large sites.
Cons: Google still independently analyzes duplicate and decides which URL to choose. The signal is less strong compared to Rel = "Canonical".

Redirects on the site

Apply redirects to eliminate duplicate pages of your site is the most powerful way to specify Google preferred URL.

For a quick result, use server 3xx core server.

Example: If the page is available on several URLs, make a redirect to the selected canonical address of your site.

Using REL = "Canonical" for your site in Google

Google supports a clear indication of canonical links according to standards. It is important not to confuse Rel = "Canonical" with other attributes, for example, Hreflang, which serve for other purposes.

You can use Rel = "Canonical" in the section <head> Or via HTTP-heads-choose one method and use it sequentially to avoid errors.

Example Rel = "Canonical" element for the site in

For the page of your site, indicate in <head> link:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/предпочтительный-url" />

It is recommended to use absolute URLs to avoid problems during indexing.

REL = "Canonical" via HTTP heading for the site

If you can configure the server, add in response the HTTP heading:

Link: <https://example.com/предпочтительный-url>; rel="canonical"

This is especially useful for non-documents of your site.

Using the Sitemap of your site to specify the canonical URL in Google

Include preferred URLs for the pages of your site to direct Google to important versions.

This is a convenient method for large projects, where it is difficult to manually set the canonical links.

Settings of redirections on your site for Google

When you want to completely eliminate duplicates of the pages of your site, use redirects. For SEO, it is better to use 301 or 302 server redirects.

Select one canonical URL for each page and configure redirects from the rest of the address.

Additional canonization factors for your Google site

Preference HTTPS before HTTP for canonical URL Site in Google

Google prefers safe HTTPS versions of the pages of your site if there are no problems with certificates or load errors.

To ensure the correct choice of canonical HTTPS-URL, use redirecting from HTTP to HTTPS, REL = "Canonical" with HTTPS and HSTS.
Avoid SSL problems so that Google does not prefer HTTP version.

Preference of a site from Hreflang Clusters in Google

For multi-lined sites, Google gives the priority of the URL, which are connected through Hreflang annotation, helping to choose the right canonical address for a particular language or region.

In case of any questions about optimizing the canonical URL of your site, you can contact the SEO.Computer SEO company by email info@seo.computer Or through WhatsApp +79202044461.

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