Term
Canonical Tag
The canonical tag (`rel="canonical"`) is an HTML element telling search engines the preferred URL for a page — central to avoiding duplicate-content issues.
Canonical Tag — explained in more detail
When the same or very similar content is reachable under multiple URLs — through URL parameters, tracking codes, session IDs or print views — duplicate-content issues can arise: ranking signals get split across versions, and Google has to guess which variant should be in the index. The canonical tag solves this by naming the canonical, officially preferred URL.
The tag sits in the page head: <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/product/sneaker">. It is a strong recommendation, not an order — Google may, in rare cases, choose a different URL as canonical when the signals point clearly elsewhere (e.g. when the self-referencing canonical points to a very weak URL).
Example / practical context
An online store has the same product page under multiple URLs because of tracking parameters:
/product/sneaker/product/sneaker?utm_source=newsletter/product/sneaker?ref=instagram
All three carry the same canonical: <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/product/sneaker">. That way all ranking signals consolidate onto a single URL.
Distinction from similar terms
A 301 redirect physically removes the other URL — the browser ends up on the destination URL. The canonical tag keeps both URLs reachable and only tells search engines which one is preferred. For truly identical content, 301 is cleaner; for necessary variants (parameters, print views), canonical is the right tool.
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Meta Description
The meta description is an HTML tag in a page's head that contains a short summary of the content — Google often uses it as the snippet text shown in the SERP.
LexikonMeta Tags Done Right — Title, Description, Canonical, Robots
Title, description, canonical, robots meta — what Google actually uses, where it rewrites, and how to set the tags so clicks and indexing stay clean.
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