SEO
Canonical URLs
Tell search engines which URL is the `real` version when the same content lives at multiple paths. Without it, ranking signals split across duplicates and nothing ranks well.
What it is
URL canonicalization — RFC 6596 standardizes the `canonical` link relation, and Google's documentation defines the broader signal set (rel=canonical HTML element, HTTP `Link: rel="canonical"` header, sitemap entries, redirects, internal linking). Each is a hint Google reconciles into one canonical URL per cluster.
Why it matters
Without an explicit canonical, Google guesses — often wrong. Pagination, tracking parameters, mobile/desktop variants, and HTTPS-vs-HTTP all generate near-duplicates that dilute PageRank and confuse analytics. The fix is one tag per page; the upside is concentrated ranking signal.
Who it applies to
Every public site — but especially e-commerce, paginated archives, and multi-region sites.
How WQI scores it
Web Quality Index considers this standard satisfied when the supporting factor passes.
| # | Factor | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Title, meta description, OG, Twitter cards, canonical | live |
Related standards
- See also
- OG / Twitter , robots/sitemap , hreflang
Standards that share factors with this one
Auto-computed from overlapping factor tickets in satisfiedBy, excluding standards already listed under "See also" above. Strong overlap suggests these standards rise and fall together when sites are scored.
Other references
Examples
Link: <https://www.example.com/whitepaper.pdf>; rel="canonical"When you can't add a <link> tag — non-HTML files — set the canonical via response header.