Lesson 23

A canonical URL tells search engines:

“This is the main version of this page.”

It’s used when:

• Multiple URLs show very similar content
• You want to avoid confusion about which version should rank

Canonical URLs help search engines choose the correct page, not penalise duplicates.

Without canonicals, search engines may:

• Split signals across similar pages
• Index the “wrong” version
• Treat pages as duplicates unintentionally

Canonicals help consolidate understanding.

Canonical URLs are often relevant when:

• The same content appears under multiple URLs
• Pages can be accessed with tracking parameters
• Filtered views generate multiple URLs
• CMSs create alternative paths to the same content

In many modern CMSs, canonical URLs are handled automatically.

As a site owner or editor, you usually don’t need to manually manage canonicals if:

• Your CMS sets them automatically
• You’re not creating duplicate pages intentionally
• Each page has a clear, unique purpose

Over-managing canonicals can create more problems than it solves.

Avoid:

• Setting canonicals without understanding why
• Pointing canonicals to unrelated pages
• Using canonicals to “hide” poor content

Canonicals clarify relationships — they don’t fix weak pages.

Think of canonicals as:

A label saying “this is the original copy.”

If there’s only one copy, the label usually isn’t needed.