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Fix canonicalization issues
Use the
URL Inspection tool
to check
which page Google considers canonical.
Even if you explicitly designate a canonical page, Google might choose a different canonical
for various reasons, such as the quality of the content. Before troubleshooting, think about
whether the Google-selected canonical makes more sense than your preferred canonical URL for
your users coming from Google Search.
There are various reasons why the selected canonical URL differs from the canonical URL you'd
prefer to see in Search. The most common issues are:
| Common canonicalization issues |
|---|
Language variants without localized annotations |
If you have multiple websites that serve substantially the same content localized to
different users around the world, be sure to
follow our guidelines for localized sites.
For example, if you have different sites for your English-speaking users in the United
States, United Kingdom, and Australia respectively, but the content is the same, adding
hreflang annotations to your pages can help the right pages surface for users
in different regions.
|
Incorrect canonical elements |
Some content management systems (CMS) or CMS plugins can make incorrect use of
canonicalization techniques to point to undesired URLs. Check your HTML with your browser's
developer tools to see if so. If your site is indicating an unexpected canonical URL
preference, perhaps through incorrect use of rel="canonical" or a
3xx redirect, contact your CMS provider and report this error to them.
|
|
Some hosting misconfigurations may cause unexpected cross-domain URL selection. For example:
-
A server may be misconfigured to return content from
example.com in
response to a request for a URL on other.example
-
Two unrelated web servers may return identical
soft 404 pages
that Google fails to identify as error pages. If you notice this is the case, get
in touch with your hosting provider.
|
Malicious hacking |
Some attacks on websites introduce code that returns an HTTP
3xx redirect
or inserts a cross-domain rel="canonical" link annotation
into the HTML <head> or HTTP header, usually pointing to a URL
hosting malicious or spammy content. In these cases, our algorithms may choose the
malicious or spammy URL instead of the URL on the
compromised website.
|
Syndicated content |
The canonical link element is not recommended for those who want to avoid duplication by
syndication partners, because the pages are often very different. The most effective
solution is for partners to block indexing of your content. For more, see
Avoid article duplication in Google News,
which also has advice about blocking syndicated content from Google Search.
|
A copycat website |
In rare situations, our algorithm may select a URL from an external site that is hosting
your content without your permission. If you believe that another site is duplicating
your content in violation of copyright law, you may contact the site's host to request
removal. In addition, you can request that Google remove the infringing page from our
search results by
filing a request under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
|
Keep in mind that if a canonical URL is in a Search Console property that you don't own, you won't
be able to see any of the traffic for your duplicate page.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-03-06 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-03-06 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle might select a different canonical URL than the one you prefer based on factors like content quality.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eCommon reasons for canonicalization issues include language variants without proper annotations, incorrect canonical elements in HTML, misconfigured servers, and malicious hacking.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf Google's selected canonical differs from yours, use the URL Inspection tool to investigate and potentially address the underlying causes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSyndicated content should not use canonical links, and instead, partners should block indexing to avoid duplication issues.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor content duplicated without permission (copycat websites), consider contacting the host for removal or filing a DMCA request with Google.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["To address canonicalization issues, use the URL Inspection tool to see Google's chosen canonical page. Common issues include incorrect language annotations, faulty CMS settings, server misconfigurations, malicious hacks, syndicated content, and copycat websites. Rectify language variants with `hreflang`, fix CMS errors, resolve server issues with your hosting provider, address malicious code, and advise syndication partners to block indexing. Report copycat sites to their host and file a DMCA request with Google if necessary.\n"],null,["# Fix Canonicalization Issues | Google Search Central\n\nFix canonicalization issues\n===========================\n\n\nUse the\n[URL Inspection tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289#google-selected-canonical)\nto check\n[which page Google considers canonical](/search/docs/crawling-indexing/canonicalization).\nEven if you explicitly designate a canonical page, Google might choose a different canonical\nfor various reasons, such as the quality of the content. Before troubleshooting, think about\nwhether the Google-selected canonical makes more sense than your preferred canonical URL for\nyour users coming from Google Search.\n\n\nThere are various reasons why the selected canonical URL differs from the canonical URL you'd\nprefer to see in Search. The most common issues are:\n\n| Common canonicalization issues ||\n|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Language variants without localized annotations ----------------------------------------------- | If you have multiple websites that serve substantially the same content localized to different users around the world, be sure to [follow our guidelines for localized sites](/search/docs/specialty/international). For example, if you have different sites for your English-speaking users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia respectively, but the content is the same, adding `hreflang` annotations to your pages can help the right pages surface for users in different regions. |\n| Incorrect canonical elements ---------------------------- | Some content management systems (CMS) or CMS plugins can make incorrect use of canonicalization techniques to point to undesired URLs. Check your HTML with your browser's developer tools to see if so. If your site is indicating an unexpected canonical URL preference, perhaps through incorrect use of `rel=\"canonical\"` or a `3xx` redirect, contact your CMS provider and report this error to them. |\n| Misconfigured servers --------------------- | Some hosting misconfigurations may cause unexpected cross-domain URL selection. For example: - A server may be misconfigured to return content from `example.com` in response to a request for a URL on `other.example` - Two unrelated web servers may return identical [`soft 404` pages](/search/docs/crawling-indexing/http-network-errors#soft-404-errors) that Google fails to identify as error pages. If you notice this is the case, get in touch with your hosting provider. |\n| Malicious hacking ----------------- | Some attacks on websites introduce code that returns an HTTP [`3xx` redirect](/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects) or inserts a cross-domain `rel=\"canonical\"` `link` annotation into the HTML `\u003chead\u003e` or HTTP header, usually pointing to a URL hosting malicious or spammy content. In these cases, our algorithms may choose the malicious or spammy URL instead of the URL on the [compromised website](https://web.dev/articles/hacked). |\n| Syndicated content ------------------ | The canonical link element is not recommended for those who want to avoid duplication by syndication partners, because the pages are often very different. The most effective solution is for partners to block indexing of your content. For more, see [Avoid article duplication in Google News](https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/9606800), which also has advice about blocking syndicated content from Google Search. |\n| A copycat website ----------------- | In rare situations, our algorithm may select a URL from an external site that is hosting your content without your permission. If you believe that another site is duplicating your content in violation of copyright law, you may contact the site's host to request removal. In addition, you can request that Google remove the infringing page from our search results by [filing a request under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act](https://support.google.com/legal/answer/1120734). |\n\n\nKeep in mind that if a canonical URL is in a Search Console property that you don't own, you won't\nbe able to see any of the traffic for your duplicate page."]]
