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    4. International SEO setup issues canonical URL

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    International SEO setup issues canonical URL

    International SEO
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    • grocare
      grocare last edited by

      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

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • GastonRiera
        Gaston Riera last edited by

        Hey grocare,

        Its a little bit confusing what you are saying because canonicals are used when there is actual duplicate between pages. Internationalization is a specific case where two pages targetting different countries **ARE NOT **duplicate content, even there are really small differences.

        I don't see that you are having an issue with canonical setup, as long as you are using them correctly. More info about canonicals:

        • What Google says officially: Consolidate URLs with rel=canonical
        • A Moz resource: Canonical tags - Best practice Moz

        What I did see is that you are using hreflang tags incorrectly: pointing to the home page.
        Consider THIS PAGE, for instance, your hreflang tags are:

        When it actually should be pointing to the current page:

        Its always good to remember that there are some really good resources about internationalization:
        Hreflang generator - Aleyda Solis International SEO - Moz Learning Center The Guide to International Website Expansion: Hreflang, ccTLDs, & More! - Moz Blog The International SEO Checklist - Moz Blog

        Hope it helps.
        Best luck.
        Gaston

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