The Blogger's Guide to Surviving Google's Wrath: Canonical URLs

What are Canonical URLs?

Canonical URLs are the preferred versions of a web page that search engines index and display in search results. When multiple versions of a page exist (e.g., with and without tracking parameters or slight variations in content), the canonical URL specifies which version Google should consider the "master" copy.

Why are Canonical URLs Important?

Canonical URLs help prevent duplicate content issues, which can confuse search engines and lead to lower search rankings. By consolidating link equity and search signals to a single URL, canonicalization ensures that the most relevant version of your page appears in search results.

How to Specify Canonical URLs in Blogger

Using the Blogger Interface:

1. Log in to your Blogger account and open the post you want to edit.

2. Click the "Edit HTML" tab.

3. Add the following code to the section of the HTML, replacing "example.com/canonical-url" with the canonical URL of your page:

``` ```

Using a Blogger Template:

1. Open the template file (usually named "default.xml") from your Blogger dashboard.

2. Locate the element and add the following code, again replacing "example.com/canonical-url" with your canonical URL:

``` ```

Best Practices for Canonical URLs

Use only one canonical URL per page.

Ensure the canonical URL matches the URL in your sitemap.

Use self-referential canonical URLs (i.e., the canonical URL of a page should point to itself).

Avoid canonicalizing pages with significantly different content.

Troubleshooting Canonical URL Issues

If you suspect issues with your canonical URLs, use Google's URL Inspection Tool to check the canonicalization status of specific pages.

If necessary, you can also use the Redirect Tool in Google Search Console to redirect duplicate URLs to the preferred canonical URL.