The Canonical URL tag is the newest solution to having too many duplicate pages. It is meant to solve all of the problems that having duplicate content creates. The canonical URL tag is almost exactly the same as the 301-redirect solution. This is because both of the solutions transfer one page to another. In a sense, the canonical URL tag simply redirects one page to your home page. If you are wondering how it works, just imagine there are eight different web sites that are all creating the same type of content. Imagine they are all duplicates of an original home page. The existence of these pages may cause quite a stir. In fact, you will have multiple page ratings as opposed to one page rating. In order to solve this, you pick one home page and make that the Canonical URL page. The URL tag tells other search engines that the pages having the Canonical URL tag are only copies of your main page. If you are wondering how this happens, do not worry. There are many pages available that explain how to make the Canonical URL tag work for you. In order to tell other search engines that you have duplicate content, you simply enter the Canonical URL tag into the header of your web page. If you do not know what your header is, it is the same section you have your Meta description tag and the title to your page. You simply enter the following tag onto your header and you have probably solved your problem: This tag tells Google and every other web site that the web site in question is only duplicate content of the URL that you entered in the tag. If you prefer to use a relative path as opposed to the canonical URL tag, they do accept this pathway. In addition if you include a link in your web page all of the relative paths will resolve themselves. However, there are a few things that you should consider before you begin using this amazing Canonical URL tag. The first thing is the fact that all of the statistics that the duplicated page shows is automatically transferred to the canonical page. We explain how to make the Canonical URL tag work for you If for some odd reason you want all of your statistics to stay on your duplicated page, then do not enter the canonical URL tag onto the header of that page. In addition, it is important to remember that when you enter that tag, it is not guaranteed. It does not automatically ensure the fact that other search engines will make that page your canonical page. It is merely a hint. Google and Yahoo have made this statement clear. This is because some people may want to use this URL tag maliciously and some may not know exactly when they should use the tag. It is their right to look through your page and decide whether or not that page should be the canonical page. It may be that another page may be chosen. If you are worried about changes that have been made to certain pages, there is no need to worry. Google has stated they will allow certain leniency on page changes. They understand that the page they may be viewing is an older page and eventually it will change. It is assumed that as long as your page holds the main content that is equal to the other pages, you will have nothing to worry about. The one thing that may pose a problem is if you happen to state a nonexistent link as your canonical page. This will return a 404. For those who do not know, a 404 Error basically tells the user that the page does not exist. If this happens, your content will still be indexed. It is strongly suggested, however, that you use a URL that is still running as your canonical page. If you do not know when you should use the Canonical URL tag, there are a few things that can help you decide as to whether or not you should use the tag. It is imperative that you use it when you know for sure you need it. This will make sure there are no problems between you and other search engines. If your category URL systems, print only URLs, and even session ID URLs are creating duplicate content, you should use the canonical URL tag on all of the pages that are not the original page. This may not be the situation in your case, however. Before you begin to use the Canonical URL tag, speak to your SEO advisor. The importance of speaking to someone who knows about the tag cannot be stressed enough. If you have a URL that has not yet been indexed, do not worry. It is still okay to make this your canonical page. Google states that the minute they are able to index your web page, the canonical page will become reconsidered. If you have canonical chains, you may be able to keep this, but it is recommended that you make only one canonical page for your series of pages. This is to make sure that the search engine results are as smooth as possible.