Are you sending mixed messages to Google? There are many different signals that feed into URL selection for search engines, and when these signals aren’t implemented correctly, search engines have to make their own assumptions about your website and what pages it thinks are important. In this talk, Rachel will share examples where a website’s signals can be ignored or overruled, as well as how to test your site's setup. Don’t leave anything to chance – be sure that the most important content on your site is getting the attention it deserves.

1. CONFLICTING WEBSITE
SIGNALS & CONFUSED
SEARCH ENGINES
Consolidating Your Content in Search
Rachel Costello, Technical SEO & Content Manager @rachellcostello

2. I take notes on the Google Webmasters
Office-hours Hangouts.
@rachellcostello

3. Back in 2018, this answer from John
Mueller got me thinking:
@rachellcostello
“You can see the canonical
page that Google has chosen
in the new Search Console.”
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-january-9th-2018/

4. @rachellcostello
I had questions I
wanted answers to.
Such as, Why is
Google ignoring our
instructions and
choosing for us?

5. The Goal: I want to consolidate my
website’s pages to strengthen their
position in search, and get more value
from my existing content.
@rachellcostello

6. The “Solution”: Add canonical tags.
The Goal: I want to consolidate my
website’s pages to strengthen their
position in search, and get more value
from my existing content.
@rachellcostello

7. The “Solution”: Add canonical tags...?
The Goal: I want to consolidate my
website’s pages to strengthen their
position in search, and get more value
from my existing content.
The Problem: Unfortunately, it’s not
that simple... @rachellcostello

8. @rachellcostello
Some things to
note about
canonicalization.

9. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
The canonical tag is a
signal, not a directive.
@rachellcostello

10. Pages have to be
very similar, or
preferably
identical for
canonicalization
to work.
@rachellcostello

11. @rachellcostello
Any unique
content on a page
with an accepted
canonical tag will
be ignored.

12. Many-to-one
canonical tags
are often
ignored.
@rachellcostello

13. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
WHAT WE’LL COVER
3. Using Google’s selections for optimization insights.
1. How Google decides which pages to favor.
2. How to persuade Google to pick the right URLs.
@rachellcostello

14. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
HOW GOOGLE SELECTS
PAGES TO SHOW IN SEARCH
@rachellcostello

15. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
When choosing
preferred URLs,
Google often
assumes that our
implementation is
wrong.
@rachellcostello

16. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Not all website owners
have knowledge of
SEO.

17. @rachellcostello
Canonical tags
XML sitemaps
Robots.txt

18. So Google uses an
algorithm for URL
selection to make
sense of all the
chaos out there.
@rachellcostello

19. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Canonical URL:
example.com/product
Internally linked URL:
example.com/product1?facet= ...
Externally linked URL:
example.com/product1?utm= ...
Sitemap URL:
example.com/product-page
?
@rachellcostello

20. @rachellcostello
Googlebot will assume
the site owner needs
some help.
So it will pick a
canonical URL for you.

21. @rachellcostello
This is where the
algorithm will be used
to help make sense of
this mess.
It uses these signals:

22. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Canonicals Sitemaps
Redirects Backlinks
Internal links Parameters
1
2
3
4
5
6

23. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
If you sit back and do
nothing, Google will
do its best to pick
preferred URLs for
you.
@rachellcostello

24. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
But Google’s algorithms
aren’t perfect.
They can make mistakes.
@rachellcostello

25. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello

26. The algorithm’s
results will be
better if you do
your part and use
consistent
signals.
@rachellcostello

27. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Canonical URL
Sitemap URL
Redirect URL
Backlink URL
Internal link URL
Parameter URL
/product/product1 /product-page

28. @rachellcostello
With website
signals, there’s
strength in
numbers.

29. “Align internal
linking and rel
canonical tags to
get a particular
page indexed.” John Mueller, Google
Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-august-25th-2017/
@rachellcostello

30. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Each of these
signals are given
different weights
by Google.

31. “Google can choose to show
canonicalized pages if you link
to them internally and within
sitemaps.”
John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-july-7th-2017-2/
@rachellcostello

32. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Internal links +
Sitemap links
Canonical tag

33. “Parameter handling signals
are stronger than the canonical
signal.”
John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-may-15th-2018/
@rachellcostello

34. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Parameter
Handling
Canonical tag

35. “URLs in sitemaps are not
guaranteed to be indexed if
they differ from the ones that
are linked to internally.”
John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-november-14th-2017/
@rachellcostello

36. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Internal links
Sitemap URLs

37. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
My observation:
More weight is given to
signals that are more likely
to have been implemented
by a human.
@rachellcostello

38. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Often auto-generated
by the CMS.
@rachellcostello
Often set manually in
GSC.
Canonical
tags
Parameter
handling
vs

39. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Often auto-generated
by the CMS.
@rachellcostello
Often set manually in
GSC.
Can be rolled out
without SEO input.
A conscious decision
by an SEO.
Canonical
tags
Parameter
handling
vs

40. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Often auto-generated
and auto-updated.
@rachellcostello
Often manually added
within body content.
Sitemap URLs Internal linksvs

41. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Often auto-generated
and auto-updated.
@rachellcostello
Often manually added
within body content.
Sitemap URLs Internal linksvs
Can be rolled out
without SEO input.
A conscious decision
by an SEO.

42. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
HOW TO TEST YOUR
WEBSITE’S SIGNALS
@rachellcostello

43. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
Sending mixed website signals
to search engines:
@rachellcostello
Wastes crawl budget.
Increases time taken for indexing.
Causes incorrect pages to be indexed.

44. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Take a closer
look at the
guidance you’re
giving to search
engines.

45. @rachellcostello
Check for any
inconsistencies in
the signals you’re
sending to search
engines.

46. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Internal linking
Redirects
Noindex
Sitemap inclusion
Disallow

47. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
INTERNAL LINKING
@rachellcostello
What to watch out for:
Are there more internal links
pointing to canonicalized
pages than canonical pages?

48. @rachellcostello
Examine links in to canonical pages.

49. @rachellcostello
Examine canonical pages with no links in.

50. @rachellcostello
Examine canonical tags to non-200 URLs.

51. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
REDIRECTS
@rachellcostello
What to watch out for:
Are internal links, backlinks
or sitemap URLs pointing to a
redirected page?

52. @rachellcostello
Examine redirecting internally linked URLs.

53. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
NOINDEX
@rachellcostello
What to watch out for:
Are you noindexing pages
that Google has selected as
canonical without realizing?

54. “Don’t use a noindex tag on
canonical pages.”
John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-september-9th-2016/
@rachellcostello

55. “Don’t use a noindex tag on
canonical pages.”
John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst
Source: https://www.deepcrawl.com/blog/news/google-webmaster-hangout-notes-september-9th-2016/
@rachellcostello
If you do, nothing will appear in
search results for that cluster of
pages.

56. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
SITEMAP INCLUSION
@rachellcostello
What to watch out for:
Are you sending 200 status
code, canonical pages to
Google via your sitemaps?

57. @rachellcostello
Examine canonical URL sitemap inclusion.

58. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
DISALLOW
@rachellcostello
What to watch out for:
Are you blocking search
engines from seeing signals
for your key pages?

59. @rachellcostello
Examine non-indexable pages being shown.

60. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
HOW TO TEST GOOGLE’S
URL SELECTION
@rachellcostello

61. @rachellcostello
See Google’s URL
selection for
yourself through the
cache and Google
Search Console.

62. @rachellcostello
Incorrect cached page suggests that a
different canonical has been chosen.

63. Remember this?
@rachellcostello
“You can see the
canonical page that
Google has chosen
in the new Search
Console.”
John Mueller, Google
Webmaster Trends Analyst

64. @rachellcostello
Let’s take a look in Google Search Console.

65. @rachellcostello
The key reports in
Index Coverage
for
canonicalization
analysis.

66. @rachellcostello

67. “This page is marked as
canonical, but Google thinks
another URL makes a better
canonical which has been
indexed instead.”
@rachellcostello
Source: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203

68. @rachellcostello

69. “The URL is one of a set of
duplicates without an explicitly
marked canonical page. Google
did not index this URL.”
@rachellcostello
Source: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203

70. @rachellcostello

71. “This page is a duplicate of a
page that Google recognizes as
canonical. This page correctly
points to the canonical page.”
Source: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203
@rachellcostello

72. @rachellcostello

73. @rachellcostello
“This page has duplicates, none
of which is marked canonical. We
think this page is not the
canonical one.”
Source: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203
@rachellcostello

74. @rachellcostello
You can gain useful
insights from
looking at the URLs
that Google
chooses to show in
the search results.

75. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Great, which signals
played into this? How
can we replicate for
other key pages?
Google chose
the specified
canonical

76. @rachellcostello brightonSEO@rachellcostello
Why not? Which
incorrect signals
caused this? Maybe
internal linking?
Google chose
the specified
canonical
Google chose a
different
canonical
Great, which signals
played into this? How
can we replicate for
other key pages?

77. @rachellcostello
Investigate further with the URL
Inspection Tool.

78. @rachellcostello
Make website signals
clear and consistent
for Googlebot so it
doesn’t need to make
decisions on your
behalf.

79. @rachellcostello
This is the key to
getting particular
pages indexed in
Google.

80. @rachellcostello
Google’s URL
selection process is
still a relative
mystery, but at least
we now know which
areas to investigate.

81. @rachellcostello brightonSEO
KEY TAKEAWAYS
3. Take learnings from the URLs
Google does and doesn’t choose
to show in SERPs.
1. Make your primary pages clear to
Google by using consistent signals.
2. Test for inconsistencies within
canonicals, redirects, internal links,
sitemaps, backlinks and parameters.
@rachellcostello

82. [INSERT YOUR LINKEDIN] [INSERT YOUR CONTACT
NUMBER]
{INSERT YOUR EMAIL]
Thank You
@rachellcostello
Any questions? Send me a tweet: