The same or very similar content available at more than one URL, on your site or across sites. Google says some duplication is normal and not a spam violation; it picks one version as canonical and shows that one.
Example
Meera's product appears at /kurtas/indigo-print and /new-arrivals/indigo-print. Google will choose one as canonical. A canonical tag tells Google which one she prefers.
How you'll hear it
“This is not a penalty; it is just duplicate URLs. Set canonicals and stop the filters creating new ones.”
Don't confuse it with
- Keyword cannibalisation: different pages competing for the same search. Duplicate content is the same content at several URLs.
- Scraped content: copying others' content with no added value, which Google's spam policies do cover.
Related terms
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Sources
- What is URL canonicalization, Google Search Central
- Duplicate content, Moz