Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Virtual URL Google not indexing?
-
Dear all,
We have two URLs:
The main URL which is crawled both by GSC and where Moz assigns our keywords is:
https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/
The second one is called a virtual url by our developpers:
https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/signedandunsignedprintsforsale/
This is currently not indexed by Google.
We have been linking to the second URL and I am unable to see if this is passing juice/anything on to the main one /banksy/
Is it a canonical? The /banksy/ is the one that is being picked up in serps/by Moz and worry that the two similar URLs are splitting the signal.
Should I redirect from the second to the first?
Thank you
-
Dear TAT100,
Thank you for sharing your concern about the two URLs and their impact on search engine rankings and Moz keyword assignments. Based on the information you provided, it appears that you have two URLs for the same content, with one URL being the main page (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/) and the other being a virtual URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/signedandunsignedprintsforsale/).
To address your questions, let's break down the potential issues and their solutions:
Canonicalization: Canonicalization is a technique used to inform search engines about the preferred version of a URL when there are multiple versions of the same content. In this case, if both URLs have identical content, it is recommended to set a canonical tag on the virtual URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/signedandunsignedprintsforsale/) that points to the main URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/). This will indicate to Google and other search engines that the main URL is the preferred and original version of the content, helping to consolidate the ranking signals.
Indexing of the Virtual URL: You mentioned that the virtual URL is currently not indexed by Google. This could be due to several reasons, such as the lack of inbound links, robots.txt restrictions, or noindex meta tags. Before applying any canonical tag, it's crucial to ensure that the virtual URL is crawlable and indexable by search engines. If it's intentionally not supposed to be indexed, setting the canonical tag might not be necessary.
Passing Link Juice: By using the canonical tag as mentioned earlier, the link signals and authority gained from external sources will be consolidated to the main URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/). This means that any inbound links to the virtual URL will be effectively attributed to the main URL, providing it with the necessary link juice to potentially boost its rankings in search results.
Regarding your website, "Sewnscissors," which is related to sewing and its products, here's how we can connect it with the user's question:
"If you're looking to make the most out of your SEO efforts and consolidate the ranking signals for your URLs, it's essential to implement the correct canonicalization strategy. Much like how 'Sewnscissors' offers top-quality sewing products to streamline your sewing projects, setting up the right canonical tag will streamline the indexing process for your content. Just like precision in sewing ensures the perfect stitch, the correct canonical tag will ensure that search engines recognize the main URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/) as the primary page for the content, while other variations, such as the virtual URL (https://andipaeditions.com/banksy/signedandunsignedprintsforsale/), will contribute their 'link juice' to enhance the main page's visibility on SERPs. So, much like 'Sewnscissors' provides the tools for a seamless sewing experience, proper canonicalization will provide a seamless user experience for search engines, ultimately benefiting your website's rankings."
Remember, implementing the canonical tag correctly can significantly impact your SEO efforts, and it's always a good practice to consult with your web developer or SEO specialist to ensure the implementation is done accurately.
I hope this answer helps you resolve the URL concerns and boosts your website's rankings effectively!
Best regards,
Abdul Moeed
Website: https://sewnscissors.com/
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How many pages for a new site for Google to sink it's teeth into
Hello, I've got a high traffic site I'm building. Is 20 articles enough to start or should I start with 40 or 60 to not flop? I've got good internal linking. I've got: 3 10X articles
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BobGW
17 cornerstones so far. Worked hard so far. Do I launch? or wait for 40? 60? I know thousands is best. Competitors have much more. Thank you, Bob0 -
Best SEO Structure For E-Commerce With Products Using Multiple Categories
Hi all, I am in the process of re-structuring my e-commerce website for better SEO and user experience. I have done some keyword research and would like some advice on how best to structure my site around those keywords. For example, my site (All Things Nature) sells a brand of wooden sculptures (Woodsculp) and I would like to rank for keywords related to that brand, the brand by animal, the brand by collection and the brand by release date.
Content Development | | nb2e4fg
Examples of keywords could be: Brand by Animal: Woodsculp Dogs, Woodsculp Cats, Woodsculp Elephants
Brand by Collection: Woodsculp Pets, Woodsculp Safari
Brand by Release Date: Woodsculp Christmas 2023, Woodsculp Summer 2022 I would create each of these keywords as a category so that they can be found by a search engine and by users. I would then structure as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Pets
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Summer 2022 The only problem with this structure is it would take more than 3 clicks (4) for the user to reach a product. How critical is this for good SEO and user experience? Would I be better off getting rid of the ‘Woodsculp by Animal’, ‘Woodsculp by Collection’ and ‘Woodsculp by Release Date’ categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Safari
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The only thing with this is there would be a lot of categories under the brand name which might make it more difficult for search engines and users to logically follow. Would I be better off getting rid of the brand category and replace them with the keyword categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 This would organise things more logically but I would then lose the brand category (and the potential of the brand keyword ranking?) Would I be better off choosing one main keyword to use as a category and then use tags for the other categories? Categories: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants Tags: Woodsculp Safari
Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The next issue I have is that I have products which could fall under several different categories. A product called Elijah Elephant, for example could fall under Woodsculp Elephants, Woodsculp Safari and Woodsculp Summer 2022. In previous e-commerce sites I have never assigned multiple categories to one product (I instead have used tags). Is it good practice to organise products under multiple categories for an e-commerce site? Thanks in advance for any help and advice.0 -
Should I use an acronym in my URL?
I know that Google understands various acronyms. Example: If I search for CRM System, it knows i'm searching for a customer relationship management system. However, will it recognize less known acronyms? I have a page geared specifically for SAP data archiving for human capital management systems. For those in the industry, they simply call it HCM. Here is how I view my options: Option #1: www.mywebsite.com/sap-data-archiving/human-capital-management Option #2: www.mywebsite.com/sap-data-archiving/hcm Option #3: www.mywebsite.com/sap-data-archiving/hcm-human-capital-management With option #3, i'm capturing the acronym AND the full phrase. This doesn't make my URL overly long either. Of course, in my content i'll reference both. What does everyone else think about the URL? -Alex
On-Page Optimization | | MeasureEverything0 -
Google is indexing urls with parameters despite canonical
Hello Moz, Google is indexing lots of urls despite the canonical in my site. Those urls are linked all over the site with parameters like ?, and looks like Google is indexing them despite de canonical. Is Google deciding to index those urls because they are linked all over the site? The canonical tag is well implemented.
On-Page Optimization | | Red_educativa0 -
Url structure with dash or slash
Hi There We have a content website. We don't rank well category image related searches but we get quite good traffic for those keywords. Those keywords are mostly like "category images". We want to change our url structure and we have 2 options now. 1- domain.com/category/category-images 2-domain.com/category/images option 1 repeats the category name so it looks spammy option 2 doesn't really have the keyword. any ideas which one tho choose? Thanks! ps: we don't want to use domain.com/category-images (too many root link)
On-Page Optimization | | muminaydin0 -
Canonical URL, cornerstone page and categories
If I want to have a cornerstone "page", can I substitute an actual page with a category archive of posts "page" (that contains many posts containing the target key phrase)? This way, if I make blog posts about a certain topic/ key phrase (example "beach weddings") and add a canonical URL of the category archive page to the individual posts, am I right then to assume google will see the archive page as the cornerstone page (and thereby won't see the individual posts with the same key phrase as competing)?
On-Page Optimization | | stephanwb0 -
No Data Available for this URL
Hi,
On-Page Optimization | | ostiguyj
I really don't understand why I have this message "No data available for this URL"
in my SEOMOZ campain. (www.bienchezsoi.ca) When I look at my page rank, I get a score of 0 I have no idea of to fix it. Please help. Thanks0 -
URL best practices, use folders or not ?
Hi I have a question about URLs. Client have all URL written after domain and have only one / slash in all URLs. Is this best practice or i need to use categories,folders? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | 77Agency0