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Glossary Web & HTTP

Canonical URL

A canonical URL is the preferred address of a page when several URLs show the same content, declared with `<link rel="canonical">`.

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In more detail

It tells search engines which duplicate to rank, such as /page instead of /page?ref=x. It must be an absolute URL, and a wrong canonical can drop a page from results. See How SEO Meta Tags Work.

Try these tools

Canonical Tag Checker

Fetch any URL server-side and instantly see its declared canonical tag, whether it matches the fetched URL, and whether the page redirected.

See also

  • Glossary URL
    A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a resource on the web, such as a page, image or API endpoint.
  • Glossary Redirect
    A redirect is a server response that sends the browser to a different URL, using a 3xx status code and a Location header.
  • Glossary hreflang
    The hreflang attribute tells search engines which language and region each version of a page is for, so users see the right one.
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