1. 4 Must Know Rules for
Rel=“canonical”
Usage
Bonnie Stefanick, Lead SEO Ninja
Internet Marketing Ninjas
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
@NINJASMARKETING at http://imninjas.com/jan13/
@bnnejn u: search p: ninja

2. 1 - Know the appropriate time to
use rel=canonical?
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3. it is[sic], “…Far better to avoid
dupes and normalize URLs in
the first place” and, “if you’re a
power user, exhaust
alternatives
first.”
-Matt Cutts, Search Quality Team,
Google Inc
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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4. Some options to try before turning
to rel=“canonical”:
•Server side redirect; 301 redirect
•Mod rewrite/ ISAPI Rewrite
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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5. 2 – Know common cases during which
usage of rel=“canonical” is in order
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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6. FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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7. 3 – Know What Happens If
Rel=“canonical” Goes Wrong?
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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8. A - Search Engines not honoring
Rel=”Canonical” that was implemented
OR
B - You didn’t check the code before
pushing live and Search Engines are De-
Indexing
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
@NINJASMARKETING at http://imninjas.com/jan13/
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9. 4 – Know Where Bing & Google Differ on
Rel=“Canonical”
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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10. Google: Sitewide Rel=“Canonical” is
OK.
Vs:
Bing: gives less trust to canonicals applied
sitewide.
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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11. Google: Self Referential rel=“canonical” is
OK.
Vs.
Bing: A self referential rel=“canonical”
sends an indicator that page is a copy of
itself
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
@NINJASMARKETING at http://imninjas.com/jan13/
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12. Bonus!
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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13. Q: Can you use rel=”canonical”
and rel=prev/rel=next together?
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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14. Q: Can you use a version of rel=”canonical” on
subdomains and across domains?
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
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@bnnejn u: search p: ninja

15. Bonnie Stefanick | Internet Marketing Ninjas
@Bnnejn
bonnie@imninjas.com
Internetmarketingninjas.com
FACEBOOK.COM/IMNINJAS This presentation can be found
@NINJASMARKETING at http://imninjas.com/jan13/
@bnnejn u: search p: ninja