What is a Canonical URL?
A canonical URL is the preferred version of a set of URLs with identical or very similar content. It is specified using a canonical tag in a webpage’s HTML. This is crucial in SEO because duplicate content can confuse search engines, leading to split ranking signals and lower rankings.
By specifying a canonical URL, webmasters can consolidate these signals and indicate which page version should be indexed and ranked to search engines. For example, if you have several pages with similar content or the same content is accessible via different URLs (e.g., with and without “www” or using different parameters), you can use the canonical tag to point to the primary version.
This helps prevent issues with duplicate content and ensures that search engines recognize the authoritative page. Proper use of canonical URLs is essential for maintaining a clean, effective site structure and maximizing the SEO potential of your content by avoiding dilution of ranking factors.