Duplicate, submitted URL not selected as canonical: HOW TO FIX?

What is Content Duplication in SEO?

Content duplication occurs when identical or similar content appears on multiple pages within a website or across different websites. This can confuse search engines, making it difficult to determine which version of the content to rank. While Google doesn’t penalize duplicate content outright, it prioritizes one version over others, which may impact your page's visibility in search results.

Understanding Content Duplication and SEO Challenges

For website owners and digital marketers, content duplication can be one of the most frustrating challenges in SEO. Even when everything seems fine on the surface, unexpected issues can arise, leaving you puzzled about why your page isn’t ranking as it should.

If you’ve landed here, you’re likely facing this problem. One common oversight is not submitting your URL to Google Search Console. This vital tool, often used by digital marketing agencies and website design companies, helps fix errors and optimize your site for Google Search.

Have You Submitted Your URL?

Submitting your URL to Google Search Console is necessary for every website owner. We've got you covered if you’re unsure how to do this. Check out our guide on how to submit URLs to Google search engines. This tool tracks your site’s performance and helps you evaluate whether your marketing agency delivers the desired results.

Tackling URL Duplication

Duplicate content issues often stem from similar content accessible through multiple URLs. For instance, your homepage might be reachable via:

• http://www.kabeeroptics.com
• https://www.kabeeroptics.com
• http://kabeeroptics.com/index.php

Each URL version appears as a separate page to search engines, leading to duplication. The fix? Implementing 301 redirects or using canonical tags points Google toward your preferred URL. Learn more about canonicalization and how it works to consolidate duplicate pages effectively.

Robots.txt: Keep It Clean

A clean robots.txt file plays a crucial role in SEO. Any unnecessary blockages can trigger errors in the Google Search Console. While Google assures us that these warnings don’t directly affect rankings, we’ve observed significant improvements when they are addressed. For detailed guidance, read Google’s article on robots.txt.

Keeping your robots.txt file straightforward ensures search engines can crawl your site efficiently.

The Real Impact of Duplicate Content

You might wonder: Does duplicate content hurt my rankings? Google’s John Mueller clarified that duplicate content doesn’t inherently penalize your site. Instead, Google selects the most relevant version to display, ignoring duplicates. This process ensures your unique content gets the attention it deserves.

However, even if duplicate content doesn’t hurt rankings, it can confuse search engines. Using canonical tags and fixing your XML sitemap ensures your preferred URLs are indexed correctly.

Pro Tip: Fix Your Sitemap

An accurate sitemap is vital for SEO success. Ensure it includes all your active, canonical URLs and matches the structure in the Google Search Console. If you’re not sure how to create or optimize a sitemap, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for help.

What If You’ve Done Everything Right?

Sometimes, even after addressing content duplication, URL canonicalization, and robots.txt issues, Google may still not display your page prominently. This could be due to:

1. Outdated Content: Refresh your content to make it more engaging and relevant.
2. Crawl Priority: Use internal linking to help Google discover the page more easily.
3. Perceived AI Content: Ensure your content reads naturally and includes human-like expressions.

If you’ve resolved these issues but still see the same errors, remember that Google might need time to re-crawl and re-index your page.

Final Words: Patience and Precision Pay Off

SEO isn’t a one-time task. Instead, it’s a continuous effort. Whether you optimize content, fix technical issues, or improve user experience, the results will follow if you stay consistent. If your page still isn’t performing as expected, feel free to contact us for expert advice.