What is a canonical URL?

A canonical URLis thepreferred version of a page that you provide to search engines via a canonical tag.When the same or similar content is reachable on multiple URLs, the canonical prevents Google from seeing them as duplicate content and bundles the SEO value on one version.What is a canonical URL

for?Many websites display the

same content on multiple URLs, for example through filters, sorts or tracking parameters.You designate the main URL with a canonical tag.This way, Google knows which version to index and show, and the value is not fragmented across variants.Canonical

and duplicate contentDuplicate

content can weaken your findability because search engines do not know which page to rank.A correct canonical solves this by linking the variants to the preferred version.It is an important part of technicaltechnical SEOmistakesMake

sure that the

canonical points to an existing, indexable page and not accidentally to the wrong URL.A canonical pointing to a blocked or unindexed pageindexingengines conflicting signals.Is a canonical a redirect?No.A

redirect redirects visitors

to another URL, while a canonical indicates a preference without moving the visitor.Should every page have a canonical?A

self-referencing canonical (which

refers to itself) is a safe, common standard.