What is a canonical URL?
SEO Definition and Examples
A canonical URL is the rel="canonical" attribute that tells Google the "true" version of a page when duplicate versions exist (e.g. with and without www).
Full Definition: What is a canonical URL
A canonical URL (rel="canonical") is an HTML tag that indicates the preferred version of a page when duplicate content exists across multiple URLs. Example: site.com/article vs. site.com/article/ — the same content. Google initially treats them as 2 separate pages (competing with each other). With <link rel="canonical" href="https://site.com/article/" /> on the /article page, you tell Google: "the true content is at the specified URL, report the traffic and authority there". The canonical is not a redirect — the /article page is still accessible and functional.
Why Does Canonical URL Matter for SEO?
Duplicate content splits authority across 2 URLs. With a canonical, you consolidate the signals into a single URL and rank better. It is the difference between DA 20 on 2 pages vs. DA 40 on 1 page.
Source: Google — Canonical URLsFrequently Asked Questions about Canonical URL
Related Terms
Technical SEO
AdvancedTechnical SEO covers your site's infrastructure — crawlability, indexing, loading speed, HTTPS and data structure — that lets Google find and understand pages.
URL Structure
BeginnerURL structure is how your site's page URLs are organized. Shorter, cleaner and more descriptive URLs rank better and are easier to share.
Duplicate Content
IntermediateDuplicate content = the same (or very similar) content on multiple URLs. Google penalizes pages with internal and external duplicate content.
Core Web Vitals
AdvancedCore Web Vitals are 3 technical Google metrics — LCP, INP and CLS — that measure page user experience and have been official ranking factors since 2021.
Put Canonical URL into practice
Explore how to apply this concept to your industry and city.
