Tag

Canonical

6 posts tagged Canonical.

January 24, 2026

Canonical vs duplicate content: what Google is actually deciding

Canonicalization is not an HTML tutorial. It is the system’s decision about which URL should represent a content cluster in the index. This explains canonical vs duplicates in 2026, why Google overrides you, and what signals resolve the representative URL.

Mikhail Drozdov

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January 15, 2026

Google chose a different canonical meaning (GSC): what it means (and the fastest fix checklist)

“Google chose a different canonical” means Google-selected canonical differs from your user-declared canonical in GSC URL Inspection. This is rarely a penalty; it’s deduplication + conflicting signals. Here is the meaning, root causes, a 10-minute fix checklist, and how to validate.

Mikhail Drozdov

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January 15, 2026

Hreflang and canonical: the correct setup (and the #1 mistake that breaks indexing)

Hreflang tells Google which language/region version to show. Canonical tells Google which URL is the primary for indexing. If you mix them wrong (especially cross-language canonicals), Google ignores hreflang and collapses your cluster. Here is the minimal correct setup, common failure modes, and how to validate in Search Console.

Mikhail Drozdov

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Latest.

6 posts

January 5, 2026

Canonical tag vs redirect (2026): which to use, when, and how to validate in GSC

Canonical vs redirect is a consolidation decision: do you want Google to index this URL (canonical) or replace it (301/308)? Use this practical decision tree, real scenarios, and GSC validation steps to avoid duplication, crawl waste, and ranking splits.

Mikhail Drozdov

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December 27, 2025

Alternate page with proper canonical tag meaning (GSC): what Google is telling you

The GSC status 'Alternate page with proper canonical tag' is usually a signal of successful consolidation: Google found a duplicate/variant and accepted your canonical target. This guide explains what it means, why it appears, when it's normal, and when it reveals URL noise that wastes crawl and slows visibility.

Mikhail Drozdov

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December 27, 2025

Duplicate without user-selected canonical meaning (GSC): why it happens and how to resolve it

The GSC status “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” means Google found duplicates and chose a canonical you did not specify. This explains why it happens, the common duplication patterns (hosts, params, archives), and how to make your preferred canonical converge.

Mikhail Drozdov

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