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Canonical Issue?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by webexpertshalini, Aug 8, 2013.

  1. #1
    I am wondering what is the exact definition of Rel Canonical Tag. I have a dilemma whether we can use it externally, as i created a page on Domain 1 and took majority of content from a page of Domain 2, now i don't want to get penalised due to copying content from one domain to another so i applied a rel canonical tag to the page of Domain 1 mentioning the url of domain 2 in the canonical tag.
    So, my question is can I use canonical tag from one domain to another and what are the consequences of it?


    Anyone who know the concept in depth can answer my queries. Any help would be appreciated
     
    webexpertshalini, Aug 8, 2013 IP
  2. lesterj

    lesterj Well-Known Member

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    #2
    The canonical tag can be used across domains. Check out https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/139394?hl=en. At the very bottom it talks about cross domain canonical tags.

    My question would be why did you copy the content of the other page?

    Kurt Steinbrueck
    OurChurch.Com
     
    lesterj, Aug 8, 2013 IP
  3. spujap

    spujap Active Member

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    #3
    "so i applied a rel canonical tag to the page of Domain 1 mentioning the url of domain 2 in the canonical tag"

    You must use cross-domain rel="canonical" instead of usual rel="canonical", since it involves external domain.

    Now Google would assume "url of domain 2 " as the right URL to index for that piece of content. It assumes "page of Domain 1" is a genuine copy of "url of domain 2 " so it should be ignored and rather "url of domain 2 " should be indexed for keywords n content.

    All rankings(PR & SERP), backlinks of "page of Domain 1" would pass to "url of domain 2 "

    Hope it helps clear your question.
     
    spujap, Aug 8, 2013 IP
  4. webexpertshalini

    webexpertshalini Greenhorn

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    #4
    Both the domains are mine, i have various domain on software niche so i use to have buy page on every site where users can find the information regarding the buy policy. The content of buy page almost remains same on every site so i used the same content on buy page of multiple domains and then put a rel canonical tag mentioning the url of the original page.

    So, that means canonical tag can be used between 2 domains? there is no hard or fast rule that this tag meant to be use within domain only.
     
    webexpertshalini, Aug 9, 2013 IP
  5. webexpertshalini

    webexpertshalini Greenhorn

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    #5
    There is one more question, i have often seen various sites where webmaster use the rel canonical tag and mention the exact url in the same page where they are using rel canonical. For e.g. if i am adding rel canonical tag in my domain1.com/clothes.html then i will mention this same url in rel canonical tag of this page.

    I am wondering why they do that? What is the concept behind it? Can you please elaborate it to me and also the pros and cons of using same url in canonical tag of the same page.

    Thanks..!!!
     
    webexpertshalini, Aug 9, 2013 IP
  6. lesterj

    lesterj Well-Known Member

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    #6
    That is correct. You can use the canonical tag across domains. If the biuy page you are referring to is just a terms of service or something like that, then it probably wouldn't matter anyway. Usually people aren't trying to get those types of pages ranked and they aren't optimized. In fact, many sites noindex those pages. Either way, if you don't care about ranking, the duplicateness of the content won't matter. Google doesn't penalize sites for duplicate content unless they are being really spammy about it or stealing other people's content. What Google does is just doesn't display both pages in the search results.

    As to your second question...
    Many people have an automated or semi-automated process for adding canonical tags. The software knows the content of the page and puts the canonical tag on all the pages with that content, including the original. Also, since the canonical tag is intended to show priority and ownership, if someone fears that another site will steal their content, they may put a canonical tag on it to claim the content.

    Kurt Steinbrueck
    OurChurch.Com
     
    lesterj, Aug 9, 2013 IP
  7. makeit easy

    makeit easy Active Member

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    #7
    I wouldn't suggest you to connect all your sites to each other. It can cause several side effects.
    Some of those sites may also have dofollow links to each other or some other pages with similar/same content.
    I would create separate site on a separate domain for that "buy" page. It would rank better on SERP's.

    Canonical tag must be used;
    if you are not able to send 301 response properly,
    if you don't want to redirect the visitors to show them the different versions of a page.

    Always prefer 301 if your intention is just to redirect, not to display the different versions of page. Keep in mind that canonical tag is a weaker tool than 301 redirect. Canonical tag is not supported by all SE's.

    Canonical tag may not be a tool to claim your content. Because other sites may already have canonical.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2013
    makeit easy, Aug 9, 2013 IP
  8. kapildeven54

    kapildeven54 Greenhorn

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    #8
    If you want to know about Canonical issue for your website, then ragepank is the best tools for this issue.
     
    kapildeven54, Aug 11, 2013 IP
  9. acevatuew

    acevatuew Banned

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    #9
    What is this tag? never heard of it.
     
    acevatuew, Aug 11, 2013 IP
  10. Kamaldeep Singh SEO

    Kamaldeep Singh SEO Well-Known Member

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    #10
    http://moz.com/learn/seo/canonicalization

    read this :)
     
    Kamaldeep Singh SEO, Aug 11, 2013 IP