Watch: Canonical Tag
A rel=canonical link element naming the preferred URL among duplicates, so ranking signals consolidate onto one address instead of splitting across copies.
Transcript
When the exact same webpage exists across multiple web addresses, like with tracking links, print versions, or HTTP and HTTPS variations, search engines can get confused. Without a clear signal, they might choose the wrong version to show in search results.
That is where the canonical tag comes in. It is a simple line of code placed in a webpage header that points to the preferred, master version of that page. By doing this, it tells search engines to funnel all of their ranking signals onto a single, correct address, instead of splitting them across several duplicates.
This consolidation is now just as important for artificial intelligence. AI systems retrieve and cite information directly from the web. If your content is scattered across duplicate links, it dilutes the authority signals that AI models use to decide which source to trust. By pointing every duplicate to one canonical address, you concentrate your authority and make sure AI systems find and cite the correct version of your content.