If you are new to the world of SEO, you might have come across the term "canonical URLs" and wondered what it means. In simple terms, a canonical URL is a way of telling search engines which URL should be considered as the primary version of a page when there are multiple versions of it available.
A canonical tag is an HTML element that specifies the preferred URL for a webpage. When search engines crawl your site, they look for these tags to understand which version of a page should be indexed.
A canonical URL is the preferred version of a web page that you want search engines to display in their search results. It's the URL that represents the original content and helps eliminate duplicate content issues.
Duplicate content can hurt your SEO efforts because it confuses search engines, causing them to choose which version of a page to index. By indicating which version is canonical, you help ensure that your content is properly indexed and displayed in search results.
When using canonical URLs, here are some best practices to follow:
Using canonical URLs can improve website optimization by:
Now that you understand what canonical URLs are and how they work, it's time to start implementing them on your website!
