Canonicalization is the method employed by search engines to discern the primary version of a URL among duplicates, ensuring that it is the one indexed and displayed to users. This designated version is known as the canonical URL, and ranking signals such as links converge towards that specific page. This procedure is occasionally denoted as standardization or normalization.
Canonicalization signals
Canonicalization signals encompass a multitude of diverse indicators that play a crucial role in the canonicalization procedure. As articulated by Google’s Gary Illyes, a total of 20 distinct signals contribute to this process. These encompass:
- Instances of duplication
- Canonical link elements
- URLs specified in the sitemap
- Internal linking structures
- External references and connections
- Redirects
- Hreflang attributes
- PageRank considerations
- Preference for HTTPS pages over HTTP
- Favoring shorter URLs over longer ones
- Determining the original publication or visibility of content
- Site-level signals, such as a historical record of scraped content
- Pages taking precedence over PDF formats
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