Google’s Advice On Using The New Canonical Tag

Mar 13, 2009 at 9:19am ET by Barry Schwartz

A month ago, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft announced they will be supporting a new canonical tag that allows you to tell search engines that page X is a duplicate page to page Z. In a way, it is a 301 redirect, without the physical redirect.

The tag is incredibly powerful, as are 301 redirects and using this tag should be done with caution and slowly. Matt Cutts posted a new video explaining how one should go about using this tag, being that it is so new. Here is the video:

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

See more articles by Barry Schwartz >

Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:

Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter

See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Google: SEO, Google: Webmaster Central, SEO: Blocking Spiders, SEO: Duplicate Content, SEO: Redirects & Moving Sites, SEO: Submitting & Sitemaps, SEO: Tagging, SEO: Titles & Descriptions sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!

Comments are closed.

TOP STORIES

See All »

SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS

See All »

FEATURES & ANALYSIS

See All »

RECENT COMMENTS

poiriem said " Excellent article, and yes it is a real problem - especially for agencies - managing budgets and KPI"
AdvertiseSpace said " Thank you for sharing, Google maps are very helpful in almost all categories of business. I am glad "
AdvertiseSpace said " I am a music person and I hope Google will make this all happen. This will serve as a big threat to "

See All »

See How To Articles And More In Our Members Library »

FREE DAILY SEARCH NEWS RECAP!

Stay on top of all the search news with our daily summary, the SearchCap newsletter. View a sample ›

STAY CURRENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY

The Search Engine Land feed keeps you informed as news happens. SEE ALL FEEDS »

SEARCH ENGINE LAND SPONSORS

Advertise With Us »

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND CONFERENCES

Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.

SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »

Join us at an upcoming SMX event:

UPCOMING SEARCH ENGINE LAND WEBCASTS

Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include: