Canonical URL
A canonical URL tells search engines which version of a page is the main one when the same content exists at several addresses.
Canonical URL at a glance
When the same or very similar content is reachable at multiple URLs (for example with and without "www", or with tracking parameters), a canonical URL declares which one is the master version. Search engines then consolidate ranking signals onto that single URL instead of splitting them, and avoid treating the duplicates as separate competing pages.
Why canonical URLs matter for your website
Without a canonical, duplicate versions can dilute your SEO and confuse crawlers about which page to show. A correct canonical tag, plus consistent internal linking and redirects to one preferred domain, keeps your authority focused and your results clean. Multilingual sites pair canonicals with hreflang so each language version is understood correctly.
FAQ
Where do you set a canonical URL?
Usually with a link rel="canonical" tag in the page head pointing to the preferred URL, and consistently in your sitemap and internal links.
What happens if you have no canonical tag?
Search engines will guess which version to index, which can split ranking signals across duplicates and cause the wrong URL to appear in results.
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