A canonical URL identifies the version you want search engines to treat as the main page among duplicates or very similar pages. Google treats a canonical annotation as a signal and may select another version. It is not a way to make unrelated pages equivalent. Source: Google Search Central: canonical URLs

A travel website example

Imagine that the same hotel guide is reachable through its normal address and a campaign link containing tracking parameters. Ask the website team to check which address is declared as canonical. This example concerns two addresses for the same content, not two guides about different hotels.

What to check

Use the preferred address in navigation and related links. Compare it with the address in the page’s canonical annotation and sitemap, because conflicting signals make the intended version less clear. Google recommends consistent internal linking to the canonical URL. Source: Google Search Central: canonical URLs

After a website change, inspect a sample of important pages. Include an updated guide, a glossary entry and a commercial page so a template error is easier to spot. Record both the address you requested and the canonical address returned.

Written and updated by Travelgenix. Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Worked examples and checklists are editorial illustrations and recommendations, not customer results.