Identify the Canonical Address for Your Website

Getting your canonical address right is one of the simplest wins in SEO. It tells users, search engines and AI tools which exact version of your site is the one true home. Done well, it prevents duplicate pages, consolidates link equity, and keeps your analytics clean.

What it is

Your site can load and exist in Google’s database in several ways:

• http://example.com
• http://www.example.com
• https://example.com
• https://www.example.com

If your website exists in more than one of these versions then essentially these are multiple copies of your website page URLs and any SEO value is shared between them. We want to consolidate this SEO value into ONE version of the website address to ensure that that version has maximum value and potential to rank.

So, your canonical address is the single, preferred version (typically https:// and either with or without www). All other versions should 301-redirect to this one. A 301 redirect is a permanent instruction that tells both browsers and search engines:

👉 “This page has moved permanently to a new location.”

When a 301 redirect is set up, anyone who tries to visit the old URL will be automatically taken to the new, preferred URL. Importantly, it also passes the “SEO value” (often called link equity or PageRank) from the old address to the new one.

For example if your site previously lived at http://www.example.com but you want https://example.com to be the canonical address, you’d set a 301 redirect so that every request to the old address automatically and permanently redirects to the new one.

So:

• http://www.example.com/about-us → 301 redirect → https://example.com/about-us

From the user’s perspective, they simply end up in the right place, with the padlock icon (secure HTTPS) showing. Also, Google would pass any SEO value from the old http version to the new https version, thus helping the new version rank higher.

Why we do it

• Avoid duplicates: Stops Google from seeing the same content at multiple addresses.
• Consolidate authority: All links point to (and benefit) one version.
• Cleaner analytics: You measure one site, not fragments.
• Stronger AI visibility: AI summarisation tools prefer clear, consistent signals.
• Better user experience: No security warnings, fewer redirects, consistent branding.

How we do it (the big picture)

1. Choose your canonical (or see which one or more Google currently has indexed in its database – see below)).:
   • Always use HTTPS.
   • Pick with or without www (both are fine; stay consistent).
2. Redirect everything else:
   • Set permanent 301 redirects from the three non-canonical variants to your chosen one.
3. Align your signals:
   • Internal links, sitemap URLs, canonical tags and Open Graph tags should all use the canonical.
   • Re-submit your sitemap in Google Search Console (GSC).
   • Add a Domain property in GSC so all variants are covered by one view.

Which version is Goole currently valuing?

Five-minute manual SERP check (no tools required)

We’re going to observe what Google is indexing and how your browser resolves each version.

1. Brand search:
   • Google your brand name. Which homepage URL does Google show? Is it your preferred https:// and (non-)www?
2. Site search:
   • In Google: site:yourdomain.com
   • Do you see mixed variants (http + https, with + without www)?
3. Direct URL tests (address bar):
   • Visit all four:
     • http://yourdomain.com
     • http://www.yourdomain.com
     • https://yourdomain.com
     • https://www.yourdomain.com
   • Each non-canonical version should land on the same canonical homepage with a single hop (ideally one 301).
4. Homepage variants:
   • Check that / and /index.html both resolve to one URL (your canonical).
5. Record what you see in your SEO Training Log.

If you have multiple variants of your domain indxed then tell your web developer to implement sitewide 301 redirects from the ones you don’t want to the one you do. For example tell them:

“Please sitewide 301 redirect all http URLs to their htpps counterparts”

or

“Please sitewide 301 redirect all www. URLs to their non-www counterparts”

Here is my video demo of this: