Search Talk - Video 3 Canonical URL Issue
June 03, 2016
SEARCH TALK
Michael Ramirez Answers the Real World SEO Questions You’re Asking @SearchRPM on Twitter.
TODAY’S QUESTION:
If a site links to A, A canonicals to B and B is later redirected to C, are signals properly passed from A to C?
Patrick Stox wanted to know the answer to a technical SEO question that sounds like it came out of an Algebra book. It includes canonical URLs, which are used to avoid duplicate content problems and improve ranking signals. For good measure, Patrick also threw in URL redirection to make things more interesting. Time to put our thinking caps on.
Patrick asked, “If a site links to A, A canonicals to B and B is later redirected to C, are signals properly passed from A to C?”
The short answer to that question is, yes the ranking signals should pass along. But that isn’t a guarantee. Here’s why.
If something on the backend is broken it can disrupt the signals no matter how things are passed along. Another issue could be too many redirects if a site or page is repeatedly moved. Michael likens this to a game of telephone. The message has to get passed along, and it can get diluted in the process. The more a page or site is moved the more likely it is that the message will get lost.
Just something to keep in mind anytime you’re moving URLs or changing websites from one address to another.
WANT TO KNOW SEO?
If you have an SEO question, conundrum or curiosity let us know! Tweet us @SearchRPM and your question may just be featured in the next Search Talk video.
You can see more Search Talk segments on our SearchRPM YouTube channel. Check it out!
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By Michael Ramirez
SearchRPM Founder
