Canonical URL
An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a duplicate or similar page is the preferred one to index.
Full definition
Duplicate content is a common technical SEO issue — the same content may appear at multiple URLs due to HTTP/HTTPS variants, trailing slashes, URL parameters, or pagination. The canonical tag (`<link rel='canonical' href='...' />`) signals to search engines which URL should be treated as the 'master' version and receive ranking credit. Self-referential canonicals (a page pointing to itself) are best practice on all pages. Canonical tags do not guarantee that Google will follow them — they are hints, not directives. For stronger enforcement, use 301 redirects when consolidating URLs permanently.
Real-world example
An e-commerce site has product pages accessible at /product/red-shoes and /product/red-shoes?color=red. Adding a canonical to the second URL pointing to the first prevents ranking dilution.
Related terms
The number of pages Googlebot will crawl on your website within a given timeframe.
Read definitionThe HTML title tag of a page, displayed as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs.
Read definitionThe page displayed by a search engine in response to a query, containing organic results, ads, and features like Local Pack and Knowledge Graph.
Read definitionStructured data code added to a webpage to help search engines understand content context and display rich snippets.
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