โ๏ธ
FREE
+55 XP
Duplicate Content
๐ฏ
Google spots a duplicate
"Two URLs with identical content. Which one to show in search? I don't know. I'll show whichever I feel like. Or I might demote both."
โ ๏ธ Duplicate content โ when the same or very similar content is accessible at multiple URLs. This confuses Google and can negatively affect the ranking of both pages.
Where Do Duplicates Come From?
| Cause | Example |
|---|---|
| HTTP vs HTTPS | http://site.com and https://site.com |
| WWW vs non-WWW | www.site.com and site.com |
| URL parameters | /product/ and /product/?color=red |
| Pagination pages | /blog/ and /blog/?page=2 |
| Session IDs | /page/?sessionid=abc123 |
Three Ways to Eliminate Duplicates
301 redirect
From duplicate to original. Best if the duplicate isn't needed.
or
rel=canonical
Points to the "real" page. Duplicate stays accessible.
or
robots.txt Disallow
Blocks the duplicate from crawling.
๐งโ๐ป
Alex finds mass duplicates
"Ecommerce site. 15,000 product pages with session IDs in URLs: /product-123/?sid=xyz. Googlebot indexes every variation. We add a canonical pointing to the clean URL โ problem solved."
โ ๏ธ Keyword cannibalization โ a special case where multiple site pages compete for the same query. Google doesn't know which to show. Result: both pages rank worse.
๐ฏ First step: use Google Search Console โ Coverage to find duplicate pages. Then identify the cause and choose the appropriate fix.
๐ฎ Test yourself: select the correct methods for resolving duplicate content issues!
Lesson Task
Test your knowledge and earn +20 XP