What are Canonical URLs?
Canonical URLs tell AI systems which version of a page is the "official" one. When the same product appears at multiple URLs (filtered views, tracking parameters, pagination), canonical tags prevent AI from treating them as separate, competing pages.
Why it matters
- AI agents won't get confused by duplicate product listings at different URLs
- Ranking signals consolidate to a single URL instead of being diluted across duplicates
- Product recommendations stay accurate because AI sees one authoritative source per product
- Crawl efficiency improves when AI crawlers don't waste time on duplicate pages
What to do
Add a <link rel="canonical"> tag to every product and collection page pointing to the preferred URL. Be consistent — choose either www or non-www and either a trailing slash or no trailing slash, and apply that form everywhere. When products appear in multiple collections, all variants should canonicalize to the same primary product URL.
Related
Canonical URLs complement your sitemap — the sitemap lists discoverable pages, and canonical tags ensure AI knows which version of each page to trust.