The term canonical is often associated with words like authorized, accepted, and approved. In the context of search engine optimization (SEO), a canonical URL is a way to tell search engines which version of a piece of content is the original or “primary” source. This is especially important when similar or duplicate content appears on multiple sites.
When you curate content, whether it’s travel blogs from around the world or a collection of recipes from renowned chefs, it’s essential to properly credit the original creators. Curated content not only helps spread valuable information, but it also strengthens the authority of the original sources.
However, if done incorrectly, content curation could lead to penalties from search engines. Search engines like Google and Bing are vigilant about duplicate content and impose strict penalties on sites that appear to have copied content without proper attribution. This can lead to your website being removed from search results entirely.
What is “rel=canonical” and do you need it?
The rel=canonical tag is an HTML attribute used to signal the original source of a piece of content to search engines. This is particularly important if you use tools like Aggregator, which imports content from other websites into your WordPress site. By adding a canonical link, you ensure that search engines recognize the original source and prevent your site from being penalized for duplicate content. This is what it looks like in HTML:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://originalsource.com/article-title/" />This practice falls under white hat SEO, meaning it’s a proper, ethical method of optimizing your website for search engines. When you use a canonical tag, you’re showing search engines like Google and Bing that you’re playing by the rules, which in turn helps your website gain trust and avoid potential penalties.
With advancements in artificial intelligence, search engines are becoming more adept at spotting content theft. It’s difficult to get away with copying content without credit. To make things easier, Aggregator has built-in functionality when creating a source to automatically generate canonical link tags for every imported item, ensuring you stay compliant with SEO best practices.
Benefits of Canonical URLs
By setting a canonical URL, you ensure that:
- Your site avoids duplicate content penalties: Search engines will recognize the original source of the content and won’t penalize you for duplication.
- Original creators get the credit they deserve: You maintain good relationships with content creators by properly attributing their work.
- Your SEO performance improves: By using canonical URLs, you boost your chances of getting in search engines’ good graces, potentially improving your own rankings.
Canonical URLs and Social Media
Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as well as messaging apps like WhatsApp, also use canonical URLs when content is shared. These platforms look for the canonical URL to decide which link to share. Aggregator’s Feed to Post feature sets the meta og tag, which points to your website’s link, ensuring that when someone shares content from your site on social media, it links back to your site—not the original source.
This functionality helps ensure that while you’re sharing valuable content from other sources, the traffic comes back to your own site, benefiting your SEO and user engagement.
