Canonical URL

You might say

Keep the product's campaign URLs accessible, but declare the parameter-free URL as canonical and use it in the sitemap.

A preferred representative URL for pages with the same or very similar contentSeveral product URLs with campaign parameters can remain accessible while each page declares a parameter-free representative URL in its head and the sitemap lists that same address. A canonical is usually a hint to search systems, not a browser redirect; use a redirect when visitors must move.

Know first

URL Redirect SEO

rel=canonical

How similar URLs converge on one representative version

Current address does not redirectexample.com/product/headphones

<head>

1<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/product/headphones">

Representative URL/product/headphonesCanonicalization signal

How a canonical URL works

A page declares its preferred representative: A page with parameters or another duplicate entry can use rel=canonical in its head to point to the URL it prefers search systems to recognize as representative.

The visited URL and representative can differ: People may still open the parameterized current URL, and the address bar normally does not change because of canonical. The sitemap should use the chosen representative too.

Quick checkChoose the best answer

Visitors must automatically reach the new product URL instead of staying on the old one. What should be used?

Configure a redirect from the old URL to the new one and check that the address bar changesAdd only a canonical link to the new URL in the old page headDelete the old page and let it show a not-found page

You can say this to an AI Agent

Set the no-parameter product URL as the canonical in the head of parameterized pages, and list only that main URL in sitemap.xml. Check each page's canonical, the sitemap list, and the browser address bar to confirm that canonical does not automatically redirect the parameterized page.

Learn next

1URL→2Redirect→3XML Sitemap→