• majorAlexa

        See all notifications

        Skip to content
        Moz logo Menu open Menu close
        • Products
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Pro Home
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Home
          • STAT
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Home
          • Compare SEO Products
          • Moz Data
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis
          • Keyword Explorer
          • Link Explorer
          • Competitive Research
          • MozBar
          • More Free SEO Tools
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO
          • SEO Learning Center
          • Moz Academy
          • MozCon
          • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers
          • Agency Solutions
          • Enterprise Solutions
          • Small Business Solutions
          • The Moz Story
          • New Releases
        • Log in
        • Log out
        • Products
          • Moz Pro

            Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

          • Moz Local

            Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

          • STAT

            SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

          • Moz API

            Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

          • Compare SEO Products

            See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

          • Moz Data

            Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

          Let your business shine with Listings AI
          Moz Local

          Let your business shine with Listings AI

          Learn more
        • Free SEO Tools
          • Domain Analysis

            Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

          • Keyword Explorer

            Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

          • Link Explorer

            Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

          • Competitive Research

            Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

          • MozBar

            See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

          • More Free SEO Tools

            Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
          Moz Pro

          NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

          Learn more
        • Learn SEO
          • Beginner's Guide to SEO

            The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

          • SEO Learning Center

            Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

          • On-Demand Webinars

            Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

          • How-To Guides

            Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

          • Moz Academy

            Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

          • MozCon

            Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
          Moz API

          Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

          Find your plan
        • Blog
        • Why Moz
          • Digital Marketers

            Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

          • Small Business Solutions

            Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

          • Agency Solutions

            Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

          • Enterprise Solutions

            Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

          • The Moz Story

            Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

          • New Releases

            Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

          Surface actionable competitive intel
          New Feature

          Surface actionable competitive intel

          Learn More
        • Log in
          • Moz Pro
          • Moz Local
          • Moz Local Dashboard
          • Moz API
          • Moz API Dashboard
          • Moz Academy
        • Avatar
          • Moz Home
          • Notifications
          • Account & Billing
          • Manage Users
          • Community Profile
          • My Q&A
          • My Videos
          • Log Out

        The Moz Q&A Forum

        • Forum
        • Questions
        • My Q&A
        • Users
        • Ask the Community

        Welcome to the Q&A Forum

        Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

        1. Home
        2. SEO Tactics
        3. International SEO
        4. "Duplicate without user-selected canonical” - impact to SERPs

        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.

        "Duplicate without user-selected canonical” - impact to SERPs

        International SEO
        canonical international seo
        4
        6
        6438
        Loading More Posts
        • Watching

          Notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread.

        • Not Watching

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Show question in unread if category is not ignored.

        • Ignoring

          Do not notify me of new replies.
          Do not show question in unread.

        • Oldest to Newest
        • Newest to Oldest
        • Most Votes
        Reply
        • Reply as question
        Locked
        This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
        • Alex_Pisa
          Alex_Pisa Subscriber last edited by

          Hello, we are facing some issues on our project and we would like to get some advice.

          Scenario
          We run several websites (www.brandName.com, www.brandName.be, www.brandName.ch, etc..) all in French language . All sites have nearly the same content & structure, only minor text (some headings and phone numbers due to different countries are different). There are many good quality pages, but again they are the same over all domains.

          Goal
          We want local domains (be, ch, fr, etc.) to appear in SERPs and also comply with Google policy of local language variants and/or canonical links.

          Current solution
          Currently we don’t use canonicals, instead we use rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default":

          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-BE" href="https://www.brandName.be/" />
          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-CA" href="https://www.brandName.ca/" />
          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-CH" href="https://www.brandName.ch/" />
          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-FR" href="https://www.brandName.fr/" />
          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-LU" href="https://www.brandName.lu/" />
          <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://www.brandName.com/" />
          

          Issue
          After Googlebot crawled the websites we see lot of “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” in Coverage/Excluded report (Google Search Console) for most domains. When we inspect some of those URLs we can see Google has decided that canonical URL points to (example):

          User-declared canonical: None
          Google-selected canonical: …same page, but on a different domain

          Strange is that even those URLs are on Google and can be found in SERPs.

          Obviously Google doesn’t know what to make of it. We noticed many websites in the same scenario use a self-referencing approach which is not really “kosher” - we are afraid if we use the same approach we can get penalized by Google.

          Question: What do you suggest to fix the “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” in our scenario?

          Any suggestions/ideas appreciated, thanks. Regards.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • ezkrt
            ezkrt last edited by

            The issue of "Duplicate without user-selected canonical" refers to situations where there are multiple identical or very similar pages on a website, but a canonical tag has not been explicitly set to indicate which version should be considered the preferred or original version by search engines.

            The impact of this issue on search engine results pages (SERPs) can be negative for several reasons:

            Keyword Dilution: When search engines encounter multiple versions of the same or similar content, they might have a hard time determining which page to rank for a particular keyword. This can lead to keyword dilution, where the authority and relevance of the content is spread across multiple pages instead of being concentrated on a single page.

            Page Selection Uncertainty: Without a canonical tag to guide search engines, they may choose to index and display a version of the page that is not the most relevant or valuable to users. This can result in users landing on less optimal pages from their search queries.

            Ranking Competition: Duplicate content can cause internal competition between your own pages for rankings. Instead of consolidating ranking signals onto one page, they get divided among duplicates, potentially leading to lower overall rankings for all versions.

            Crawling and Indexing Issues: Search engine bots may spend more time crawling and indexing duplicate content, which could lead to inefficient use of their resources. This might affect how often your new or updated content gets indexed.

            To address the "Duplicate without user-selected canonical" issue and mitigate its impact on SERPs:

            Implement Canonical Tags: Set up canonical tags on duplicate or similar pages to indicate the preferred version. This guides search engines to consolidate ranking signals and direct traffic to the correct page.

            301 Redirects: If possible, redirect duplicate pages to a single, canonical version using 301 redirects. This not only consolidates ranking signals but also ensures that users are directed to the most relevant content.

            Consolidate Content: Consider merging similar pages into a single, comprehensive page. This helps avoid duplication issues and improves the overall user experience.

            Use Noindex Tags: If some duplicate pages are not crucial for SEO or user experience, you can add a noindex meta tag to prevent search engines from indexing those pages.

            Monitor and Update: Regularly audit your website for duplicate content and ensure that new content is properly canonicalized to prevent future occurrences.

            By addressing the "Duplicate without user-selected canonical" issue, you can help improve the clarity and accuracy of how your content appears in SERPs, potentially leading to better rankings and a more effective SEO strategy.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • jeffmoore121
              jeffmoore121 @GeorgeJohn727 last edited by

              @GeorgeJohn727
              Duplicate without user-selected canonical

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • jeffmoore121
                jeffmoore121 last edited by

                Understanding 'Duplicate without user-selected canonical' is crucial for optimizing SERPs. This issue can lead to content duplication concerns, potentially affecting search engine rankings. Just as addressing this matter ensures streamlined search results, exploring the 'best online betting sites in India' exemplifies how selecting the right canonical source enhances visibility and credibility in the online domain.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Alex_Pisa
                  Alex_Pisa Subscriber @GeorgeJohn727 last edited by

                  @georgejohn727

                  1. Even if this error occurs it doesn't mean Google ignores the pages - it can and in our case they appear in SERPs.
                  2. Duplicate pages carry value in sense that there is a slight alteration for local market - contact info, different pricing, etc. So 90% of the page is same on national
                    domains, but only slight part differs.
                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • GeorgeJohn727
                    GeorgeJohn727 Banned last edited by

                    @alex_pisa
                    The error "Duplicate without user-selected canonical” indicates that Google found duplicate URLs that are not canonicalized to a preferred version. Google didn't index these duplicate URLs and assigned a canonical version on its own.

                    How to fix this issue

                    Should these pages even exist? If the answer to this is no, simply remove these pages and return a HTTP status code 410.

                    If these pages have a purpose, then ask yourself whether they
                    carry any value:

                    • If yes, then canonicalize them to the preferred version of the URL. Need some inspiration where to canonicalize to? See which URL Google finds most relevant using the URL Inspection tool(opens in a new tab). If Google's listing PDF files for your site, canonicalize them through the HTTP header.

                    • If these pages don't carry any value, then make sure to apply the noindex directive through the meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag HTTP Header.

                    Alex_Pisa jeffmoore121 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • 1 / 1
                    • First post
                      Last post

                    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.

                    • See all categories

                    Related Questions

                    • shabbirmoosa

                      Rel canonical tag from shopify page to wordpress site page

                      shopify wordpress canonical

                      We have pages on our shopify site example - https://shop.example.com/collections/cast-aluminum-plaques/products/cast-aluminum-address-plaque That we want to put a rel canonical tag on to direct to our wordpress site page - https://www.example.com/aluminum-plaques/ We have links form the wordpress page to the shop page, and over time ahve found that google has ranked the shop pages over the wp pages, which we do not want. So we want to put rel canonical tags on the shop pages to say the wp page is the authority. I hope that makes sense, and I would appreciate your feeback and best solution. Thanks! Is that possible?

                      Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | shabbirmoosa
                      0
                    • Spaziohouston

                      How Can I influence the Google Selected Canonical

                      canonical ranking issue subdomain indexation

                      Our company recently rebranded and launched a new website. The website was developed by an overseas team and they created the test site on their subdomain. The only problem is that Google crawled and indexed their site and ours. I noticed Google indexed their sub domain ahead of our domain and based on Search Console it has deemed our content as the duplicate of theirs and the Google selected theirs as the canonical.
                      The website in question is https://www.spaziointerni.us
                      What would be the best course of action to get our content ranked and selected instead of being marked as the duplicate?
                      Not sure if I have to modify the content to make it more unique or have them submit a removal in their search console.
                      Our indexed pages continue to go down due to this issue.
                      Any help is greatly appreciated.

                      Community | | Spaziohouston
                      1
                    • Alex_Pisa

                      "Duplicate without user-selected canonical” - impact to Google Ads costs

                      google ads canonical

                      Hello, we are facing some issues on our project and we would like to get some advice. Scenario
                      We run several websites (www.brandName.com, www.brandName.be, www.brandName.ch, etc..) all in French language . All sites have nearly the same content & structure, only minor text (some headings and phone numbers due to different countries are different). There are many good quality pages, but again they are the same over all domains. Current solution
                      Currently we don’t use canonicals, instead we use rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default": <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-BE" href="https://www.brandName.be/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-CA" href="https://www.brandName.ca/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-CH" href="https://www.brandName.ch/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-FR" href="https://www.brandName.fr/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-LU" href="https://www.brandName.lu/" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://www.brandName.com/" /> Naturally this si reflected in ""Duplicate without user-selected canonical” . Issue
                      We create the same ad in Google Ads for 2 domains. So the content is mostly identical, ads are identical, target URLs differ only in domain. Yet Google Ads “Quality score” is different (10/10 vs. 6/10) and “Landing page experience” is very different (Above average vs. Average). Some members of our team think lower “Landing page experience” increases the Google Ads costs, which I personally don't believe, but I want to double check. Question: Can “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” issue decrease the “Landing page experience” rating and as result can it cause higher Google ads costs? Any suggestions/ideas appreciated, thanks. Regards.

                      Paid Search Marketing | | Alex_Pisa
                      0
                    • grocare

                      International SEO setup issues canonical URL

                      My site is www.grocare.com for one region and in.grocare.com for another region. Both of them have the same content except the currency for particular regions. Someone told me that google will take the content as duplicate and not rank either. I have setup hreflang and targeted different regions for both in the search console. I read many article which say canonical urls need to be setup for international seo sites. But Im not sure how to setup canonical urls and whether they are the right way to go . i just don't want my content deranked. Now i have setup hreflang properly after asking the moz community itself. So im hoping to get some help with this query too. TIA

                      International SEO | | grocare
                      0
                    • spjain81

                      Correct Hreflang & Canonical Tags for Multi-Regional Website English Language Only having URL Parameters

                      Dear friends, We have a multi-regional website in English language only having the country selector on the top of each page and it adds countrycode parameters on each url. Website is built in Magento 1.8 and having 1 store with multiple store views. There is no default store set in Magento as I discussed with developer. Content is same for all the countries and only currency is changed. In navigation there are urls without url parameters but when we change store from any page it add parameters in the url for same page hence there are total 7 URLs. 6 URLs for each page (with country parameters) and 1 master url (without parameters) and making content duplicity. We have implemented hreflang tags on each page with url parameters but for canonical we have implemented master page url as per navigation without url parameters Example on this page. I think this is correct for master page but we should use URL parameters in canonical tags for each counry url too and there should be only 1 canonical tag on each country page url. Currently all the country urls are having master page canoncial tag as per the example. Please correct me if I am wrong and **in this case what has to be done for master page? **as google is indexing the pages without parameters too. We are also using GEOIP redirection for each store with country IP detection and for rest of the countries which are not listed on the website we are redirecting to USA store. Earlier it was 301 but we changed it to 302. Hreflang tags are showing errors in SEMRush due to redirection but in GWT it's OK for some pages it's showing no return tags only. Should I use **x-default tags for hreflang and country selector only on home page like this or should I remove the redirection? **However some of the website like this using redirection but header check tool doesn't show the redirection for this and for our website it shows 302 redirection. Sorry for the long post but looking for your support, please.

                      International SEO | | spjain81
                      0
                    • absoauto

                      How can I change the currency Google lists my products with in the SERP?

                      I.e. This product - http://www.absoluteautomation.ca/fgd400-sensaphone400-p/fgd400.htm - shows up as USD in the SERP. (In the US it just won't show a currency, if Canada it will show USD on the SERP). My pricing is all in CAD, how can I tell Google this? (It knows pricing is CAD in my Google Product Listings/Merchant Center). Thanks!

                      International SEO | | absoauto
                      0
                    • lans2787

                      CcTLD and duplicate content

                      Hello people, I would like some help with this question... I am building 2 websites www.domain.com.ec  and www.domain.com , both on the same languages, and same content, but the domain.com.ec will show a different price for local ecommerce and focus to target Ecuador... the www.domain.com will sell on all the other spanish languages countries with a fob price... So my question ... is there any way to fail into the duplicate content on the google eyes? What could be the best way to do it? Using the multistore option, with different cctld could change anything? Thank you guys

                      International SEO | | lans2787
                      0
                    • lcourse

                      Country name displayed after domain name in google SERP

                      our online shop targets clients in the US and worldwide (same URL - no subdirectories - currency changes based on IP). when searching in google.ie or google.no for our site google displays in the SERPS "US" or "United States" after the URL for our site, but for most other US competitors it does not show the country in the SERPS. I deleted our google places listing 2 weeks ago, since I suspected it may be related, but no change so far. In google webmaster tools we have targeted the shop domain to United States, which may be another factor. Unfortunately we can not undo this setting since without it our google US ranking for the most relevant competitive keyword drops from position 8 to position 100+. Server location is in Germany which despite lots of US links and US contact info and USD currency appparently makes google think that the site is not targeting the US. Does anybody know what triggers the country name in the SERPS (google places or webmaster tools or other) and  can give advice if there is any way to get rid of it.

                      International SEO | | lcourse
                      0

                    Get started with Moz Pro!

                    Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                    Start my free trial
                    Products
                    • Moz Pro
                    • Moz Local
                    • Moz API
                    • Moz Data
                    • STAT
                    • Product Updates
                    Moz Solutions
                    • SMB Solutions
                    • Agency Solutions
                    • Enterprise Solutions
                    • Digital Marketers
                    Free SEO Tools
                    • Domain Authority Checker
                    • Link Explorer
                    • Keyword Explorer
                    • Competitive Research
                    • Brand Authority Checker
                    • Local Citation Checker
                    • MozBar Extension
                    • MozCast
                    Resources
                    • Blog
                    • SEO Learning Center
                    • Help Hub
                    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                    • How-to Guides
                    • Moz Academy
                    • API Docs
                    About Moz
                    • About
                    • Team
                    • Careers
                    • Contact
                    Why Moz
                    • Case Studies
                    • Testimonials
                    Get Involved
                    • Become an Affiliate
                    • MozCon
                    • Webinars
                    • Practical Marketer Series
                    • MozPod
                    Connect with us

                    Contact the Help team

                    Join our newsletter
                    Moz logo
                    © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                    • Accessibility
                    • Terms of Use
                    • Privacy

                    Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.