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Should I "no-index" two exact pages on Google results?
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Hello everyone,
I recently started a new wordpress website and created a static homepage.
I noticed that on Google search results, there are two different URLs landing on same content page.
I've attached an image to explain what I saw.
Should I "no-index" the page url?

In this picture, the first result is the homepage and I try to rank for that page. The last result is landing on same content with different URL.
So, should I no-index last result as shown in image?
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In any SEO plugin, you can go to edit the secondary article and in canonical URL you put the link to the home page.
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@amanda5964 You can use canonical meta tag to tell google that those are the exact same pages. Google will index one of them which google choose best for the SERP.
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Hi @amanda5964 actually could I ask if there is a reason for having these identical pages? You might want to consider simply combining the pages - i.e. deleting your sub page and redirecting to home if the content is identical.
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I would not no-index. Typically it is more effective to use a canonical link from the secondary content to the main page you want the traffic directed to.
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