Here is the specific question that was submitted:
“You can indicate your preference to Google using these techniques, but Google may choose a different page as canonical than you do, for various reasons. So, what are the reasons? Thanks!”In response, Mueller says its common for websites to have multiple, unique URLs that lead to the same content. For example, there’s WWW and non-WWW versions of a URL. Another common configuration is when the homepage is accessible as index.html, or when upper and lowercase characters in URLs lead to the same pages. Ideally there should not be any alternate versions of URLs, but that rarely happens. So Google chooses canonical URLs to display in search results based on two general guidelines:
- Which URL does it look like the site wants Google to use?
- Which version of the URL would be most useful to searchers?
How to Tell Google Which Canonical URL You Prefer
Site owners can send signals telling Google which URL they prefer. The more consistent the signals are, the more likely Google will choose the site’s preferred URL. Those signals are as follows:- Link rel canonical annotation that matches throughout the site
- Redirects
- Internal linking using the preferred URL format
- Preferred URLs in the sitemap file
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