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/
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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?
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: