What is Canonical URL?
Also called: Canonical tag, rel=canonical
The short answer
A canonical URL tells search engines which address is the main version of a page when the same content is reachable at several URLs.
Canonical URL, explained
It consolidates ranking signals onto one URL and prevents tracking parameters or duplicate paths from competing with each other.
Questions people ask about Canonical URL
What is Canonical URL?
A canonical URL tells search engines which address is the main version of a page when the same content is reachable at several URLs.
Related terms
Duplicate content is the same or near-identical text at more than one URL, which makes search engines choose one version and can split ranking signals.
URLA URL is the full address of one specific resource on the web, made of a protocol, a domain and a path, like https://example.com/pricing.
IndexingIndexing is when a search engine stores a crawled page in its database so it can appear in results; a page that is not indexed cannot rank.
SEOSEO is the practice of making a website easier for search engines to crawl, understand and rank, so it appears for the searches its audience actually makes.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.