Resolving Canonicalization Issues

Fixing Canonicalization Issues in Google Search

This document explains how to troubleshoot situations where Google Search selects a different canonical URL than the one you prefer.

What is a Canonical URL?

In simple terms, a canonical URL is the preferred version of a page from Google's perspective. Think of it as the primary address for a piece of content that might exist at multiple URLs. This helps Google consolidate information about your content and avoid duplicate content penalties.

Using the URL Inspection Tool

The first step in troubleshooting canonicalization issues is identifying how Google views your pages. You can do this with the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console.

1. Open the URL Inspection tool: Go to your Google Search Console account and paste the URL you want to inspect into the search bar at the top.

2. Check the "Coverage" report: This report shows whether Google has indexed your page and, if so, which URL it considers canonical.

Common Canonicalization Issues & Solutions

Here's a breakdown of common reasons why the chosen canonical URL might differ from your preference, along with solutions for each:

1. Language Variants Without Localized Annotations

Problem: You have multiple websites with the same content translated into different languages. Without proper annotations, Google might not understand these are localized versions and might pick an unexpected canonical.

Example:

• You have websites for English (example.com) and Spanish (example.es) users.

• Both sites have a page about "dog grooming," but the example.es version ranks for English searches.

Solution: Use hreflang tags to tell Google about the language and geographical targeting of your pages.

Example Code:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://www.example.com/dog-grooming/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="https://www.example.es/cuidado-de-perros/" />

2. Incorrect Canonical Elements

Problem: Your content management system (CMS) or plugins might be generating incorrect canonical tags (using rel="canonical") or redirects (3xx status codes).

Example:

• Your CMS accidentally adds a canonical tag pointing to a staging URL on all live pages.

Solution:

1. Inspect your HTML: Use your browser's developer tools (right-click on the page and select "Inspect" or "Inspect Element").

2. Check for incorrect canonicals: Look for <link rel="canonical" ... > tags and verify the URL is correct.

3. Check for unintended redirects: Analyze network requests in your browser's developer tools to see if there are unexpected redirects.

4. Contact your CMS provider: If you identify incorrect code, report the issue to them for a fix.

3. Misconfigured Servers

Problem: Server misconfigurations can lead to Google selecting the wrong canonical URL.

Example 1:

• A server might be configured to return content from example.com when a user requests a page on blog.example.com, leading to canonicalization issues between the subdomain and the main domain.

Example 2:

• Two different servers hosting unrelated websites might return identical "soft 404" error pages (pages that return a 200 status code instead of a 404 for a non-existent page). Google could misinterpret these as duplicate content.

Solution: Contact your hosting provider and provide them with specific examples of the misconfiguration so they can investigate and resolve the issue.

4. Malicious Hacking

Problem: Hackers might inject malicious code into your website that modifies canonical tags or introduces redirects, pointing users to harmful websites.

Example:

• An attacker adds a JavaScript snippet to your website that dynamically injects a <link rel="canonical"...> tag pointing to a spam website.

Solution:

1. Regularly scan your website for malware.

2. Keep your CMS, plugins, and server software up-to-date.

3. Implement strong security measures: Use strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and website firewalls.

5. Syndicated Content

Problem: You syndicate your content to other websites, and those sites get indexed by Google, leading to duplicate content issues.

Example:

• You publish an article on your website (yoursite.com) and a partner website (partnersite.com) republishes it, leading Google to see two versions of the same content.

Solution:

1. Ask syndication partners to implement the noindex meta tag: This tells search engines not to index the syndicated version of your content.

<meta name="robots" content="noindex"> 

2. Use canonical tags on syndicated content: Ask partners to include a canonical tag on their version of the content pointing back to the original article on your site.

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.yoursite.com/your-article/" />

6. Copycat Websites

Problem: Another website might be scraping or illegally copying your content and publishing it as their own. Google might pick their version as the canonical one.

Solution:

1. File a DMCA takedown request: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows you to request the removal of copyrighted material from websites.

2. Contact the hosting provider: You can contact the hosting provider of the infringing website and report the copyright infringement.

3. Use Google's copyright removal tool: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dmca-notice: You can report copyright infringement to Google directly.

Remember: Regularly monitor your website for canonicalization issues and use Google Search Console to gain insights into how Google is indexing your pages. By addressing these issues promptly, you can ensure that Google correctly understands your website structure and ranks the right pages for your target keywords.