A tag that tells Google which URL you prefer as the main version when several URLs show the same or very similar content. Google treats it as a strong hint, not an order, and may pick a different canonical.
Example
Meera's kurta page loads at three URLs because of colour filters. Each version carries a canonical tag pointing to the clean URL, so Google consolidates them into one.
How you'll hear it
“Search Console says Google chose a different canonical than ours; our signals must be contradicting each other.”
Don't confuse it with
- 301 redirect: sends visitors and bots to another URL. A canonical tag leaves both URLs working for visitors.
- noindex: drops a page from the index; canonical consolidates it into another.
Related terms
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Sources
- What is URL canonicalization, Google Search Central
- How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods, Google Search Central