Yet another aspect of SEO is creating a lot of buzz in the interactive world-URL canonicalization.  This is the process by which a set of Web addresses are adjusted to reflect one standard URL, making it possible to determine whether two different links are equivalent in relevance when returned in a search.

What is URL canonicalization?

Though this concept can be a bit tricky to understand (and pronounce! “ca-non-ick-cull-eye-zay-shun”), it solves a fundamental problem that prevents Web sites from working at the optimum level. Typically, buckets of relevant content on a site will appear on multiple pages within that site, or sometimes even on multiple Web sites altogether. For example:

example.com

www.example.com

http://www.example.com

www.example.com/index.html

http://www.example.com/index.html

This is particularly relevant to SEO with regard to which information is returned for a particular search. In order to provide the best experience for the searcher, search engines attempt to limit the number of returns by means of eliminating redundancies within the returned results. If a search engine is not clear on which page to use, or sees the information as separate pages, it splits up the link juice among all of the pages, versus returning one, more powerful page/result.

So what?

What is exciting here is that we are now able to present a singular version of content, ensuring it receives the highest possible rankings based on domain strength, trust, relevance, etc. This prevents multiple pages from having to compete with each other and creates one strong source.

As discussed in our most recent post, SEO is one of the best ways to drive qualified traffic to your site. SEO is a low-cost, highly measurable means of lead-generation, and, to maximize campaign results, it is critical that it is as optimized as possible.  URL canonicalization presents yet another opportunity to leverage your website to its fullest potential.

How to resolve canonicalization issues

It is important to address various ways to avoid canonicalization issues. SEOBook.com provides a list of various tactics and we’ve highlighted a few of those to help you quickly identify areas you can improve:

Consistent link planning – Choose a linking norm, and stick to it. Maintaining consistent linking conventions (i.e. always link to www.example.com instead of also linking to www.example.com/index) will keep search results strong. This also applies to using either relative or absolute linkage, instead of using both. Remember, consistency is key!

Employ a 301 Redirect – Keep searchers informed of domain changes and maintain user-friendly search results. This tool automatically redirects pages that have been moved to a new location.

Beware of https:// vs. http:// versions of a site – Searches will sometimes return both pages, thereby diluting the search results.

Keep it original – When duplicating or cross-promoting content on a site, be sure to link to the original files on the site.

Make Google work for you – Google Webmaster Tools allows you to declare which version of a URL it should use (www.example.com vs. example.com/index).

website check tool – Helps identify a number of possible architecture problems, including canonicalization issues, on your site. Download tool at http://training.seobook.com/website-health-check.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Rise Interactive, SEM Tutorial, SEO Friendly Web Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Site Architecture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.