---
title: "Canonical URL"
description: "The one address you declare as the real home of a page, for when the same content can be reached at several."
topic: "Search Technology"
canonical: "https://geordy.ai/glossary/search-technology/canonical-url"
---
# Canonical URL

The one address you declare as the real home of a page, for when the same content can be reached at several.

Tracking parameters, trailing slashes, print views and category paths can all serve the same content at different addresses. A canonical link in the page head names which one counts, so ranking and citation signals collect on a single URL instead of splitting across near-duplicates. AI engines have the same problem search engines do here, with less tolerance for ambiguity: if two addresses claim the same content and neither defers to the other, the engine picks one for you.
---

Source: https://geordy.ai/glossary/search-technology/canonical-url
This is a machine-readable markdown version of that page, generated by Geordy.