Best of : Canonicalization

SEO Is Not That Hard

Send us a text

Struggling with duplicate content issues? Feeling like your SEO efforts aren't paying off? The answer might lie in a commonly misunderstood SEO concept: canonicalization.
In this episode, I break down what canonicalization actually means and why it's so crucial for your website's search performance. When search engines encounter the same content across multiple URLs, they get confused about which version to rank – leading to split link equity, wasted crawl budget, and potentially lower rankings. Through practical examples from e-commerce sites (where product pages can exist under numerous URLs due to filters and sorting options), you'll understand exactly why proper URL management matters.
The heart of this episode focuses on implementation strategies that work. From the proper use of the rel="canonical" tag to maintaining consistency across your site architecture, I share battle-tested techniques developed over my 20+ years in SEO. You'll learn why even unique pages should have self-referencing canonical tags, how to handle content syndication across domains, and the importance of using absolute URLs in your canonical implementation.
What sets this discussion apart are the real-world mistakes I've witnessed throughout my career – from the surprisingly common practice of canonicalizing all pages to the homepage to the subtle but damaging inconsistency in trailing slashes. Remember: Google treats canonical tags as hints, not directives, which means your broader SEO strategy must align with your canonicalization choices. Ready to consolidate your SEO power and stop confusing search engines? This episode gives you the knowledge to take action today. Subscribe now and discover how proper canonicalization can transform your search visibility.

SEO Is Not That Hard is hosted by Edd Dawson and brought to you by KeywordsPeopleUse.com

Help feed the algorithm and leave a review at ratethispodcast.com/seo

You can get your free copy of my 101 Quick SEO Tips at: https://seotips.edddawson.com/101-quick-seo-tips
To get a personal no-obligation demo of how KeywordsPeopleUse could help you boost your SEO and get a 7 day FREE trial of our Standard Plan book a demo with me now
See Edd's personal site at edddawson.com
Ask me a question and get on the show Click here to record a question
Find Edd on Linkedin, Bluesky & Twitter
Find KeywordsPeopleUse on Twitter @kwds_ppl_use
"Werq" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chapters

1. Introduction to Best of SEO Podcast (00:00:00)

2. What is Canonicalization and Why It Matters (00:02:29)

3. How to Implement Effective Canonicalization (00:04:06)

4. Common Canonicalization Mistakes to Avoid (00:10:27)

5. Final Tips and Episode Conclusion (00:14:49)