{"id":5438,"date":"2022-06-29T18:38:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T18:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/?p=5438"},"modified":"2022-10-03T11:11:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:11:40","slug":"what-is-a-canonical-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Canonical Issue?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f453da3b569\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f453da3b569\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/#Canonical_Issues_and_How_to_Fix_Them\" >Canonical Issues and How to Fix Them<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/#Canonical_tags_help_Google_decide_which_page_to_show_in_SERPs\" >Canonical tags help Google decide which page to show in SERPs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/#They_are_a_signal_for_search_engines\" >They are a signal for search engines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/#They_are_easy_to_use\" >They are easy to use<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/#They_affect_SEO\" >They affect SEO<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Canonical_Issues_and_How_to_Fix_Them\"><\/span>Canonical Issues and How to Fix Them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The first problem is that your site may have more than one version of the same page. For example, if you have two versions of your homepage, Google may select URL 2 as the canonical version of the page. Google may ignore URL 1 and consider only links pointing to URL 2.<\/p>\n<p>(Looking for <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/\">Omaha SEO services<\/a>? Contact OMAHA SEO today!)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3360 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"658\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-1024x770.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-1536x1155.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-2048x1540.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-1900x1429.jpg 1900w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-455x342.jpg 455w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-600x451.jpg 600w, https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Depositphotos_6897998_XL-335x252.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Canonical_tags_help_Google_decide_which_page_to_show_in_SERPs\"><\/span>Canonical tags help Google decide which page to show in SERPs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the SEO world, canonical tags help Google decide which page to display in the search results. The canonical tag is an HTML link element that specifies the main version of a web page. It guides search engines on which URL should be indexed. Moreover, it helps Google to differentiate between duplicate content and cloned copies. Nonetheless, this tag can&#8217;t guarantee that Google will show the correct version in search results.<\/p>\n<p>The use of canonical tags helps fix duplicate content problems by allowing users to select the most relevant and accurate page to display in SERPs. By using canonical tags, users can avoid the possibility of getting penalized by Google for having duplicate content on their website. Google&#8217;s algorithm prioritizes well-structured websites with original content over those with duplicated content. For that reason, it&#8217;s imperative to use canonical tags on all pages of your website.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"They_are_a_signal_for_search_engines\"><\/span>They are a signal for search engines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Google is looking for the most relevant URL for your page. Depending on the situation, it might prefer shorter URLs, or it might prefer HTTPS. In some cases, the URL may not load because of insecure dependencies. In other cases, the URL may not have content parity and may contain a rel=&#8221;canonical&#8221; link to another page. If Google sees any of these issues, it may not index the page.<\/p>\n<p>If your website has duplicate content, it is crucial to add a canonical tag to the page in question. This helps search engines determine which URL to index the content under. Many website owners use other websites to publish content. However, these duplicate pages take link equity from the main version. Using canonical tags will help Google determine which page is the original source of the content. By adding canonical tags to the URL, you can improve your overall ranking in Google Search.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"They_are_easy_to_use\"><\/span>They are easy to use<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There are many ways to introduce duplicate content on your website. You can avoid this problem by adding a canonical URL to your website. Having multiple URLs for the same page is an SEO nightmare. A canonical URL will lead Google to the original content and avoid penalization. But how do you know if you have one? Here are some tips. The URLs should be SEO-friendly. Canonical issues are common but easy to fix.<\/p>\n<p>One way to implement canonical URLs is to use plugins. Yoast is an excellent example. This plugin adds the self-referencing URL by default to all your site&#8217;s files. If you don&#8217;t have a webmaster, you can implement canonical tags yourself if you have experience with HTML. The best way is to create a sitemap for your website. This sitemap lists all the files on your website and specifies the relationship between them.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"They_affect_SEO\"><\/span>They affect SEO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;re using the canonical tags on your website, you should consider the following. These tags tell search engines that a page is a copy of its master page. The tag looks like a link that says rel=&#8221;canonical&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In case you&#8217;re wondering what canonical issues are, it&#8217;s important to understand that <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/learn-why-you-need-to-check-seo-duplicate-content\/\">duplicate content is harmful to SEO<\/a>. It happens because your website has multiple URLs with the same content. This can happen as a result of a redirect, search parameter on an e-commerce site, or syndicating content on several sites. This duplicate content has multiple negative consequences for SEO. So, how do you fix the problem?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d137701.21078628275!2d-96.25888714338743!3d41.26159712886629!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e0!4m5!1s0x8793f549766071eb%3A0x3b1c6cb182105b27!2sCostco%20Gas%20Station%2C%20Portside%20Parkway%2C%20La%20Vista%2C%20Nebraska!3m2!1d41.177126699999995!2d-96.1086385!4m5!1s0x87938c3d0c92fcb1%3A0x98cf112f2e9fe028!2s5223%20Grover%20St%2C%20Omaha%2C%20NE%2068106!3m2!1d41.2266913!2d-95.99608579999999!5e0!3m2!1sfil!2sus!4v1653558505224!5m2!1sfil!2sus\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canonical Issues and How to Fix Them The first problem is that your site may have more than one version of the same page. For example, if you have two versions of your homepage, Google may select URL 2 as the canonical version of the page. Google may ignore URL 1 and consider only linksRead More &raquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[757],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-omaha-seo","cat-757-id"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is a Canonical Issue? - Omaha SEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You can avoid this problem by adding a canonical URL to your website. Having multiple URLs for the same page is an SEO nightmare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is a Canonical Issue? - Omaha SEO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You can avoid this problem by adding a canonical URL to your website. Having multiple URLs for the same page is an SEO nightmare.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-canonical-issue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Omaha SEO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/4socialmedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-29T18:38:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-03T11:11:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/omaha-seo-services.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"926\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"449\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phil Belleville\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MySocialMediaCo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MySocialMediaCo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Belleville\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is a Canonical Issue? - Omaha SEO","description":"You can avoid this problem by adding a canonical URL to your website. 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To work with me, book a call from the homepage of Omaha SEO (Omaha\u2011SEO.com).","url":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/author\/philbell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/omaha-seo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}