• seohunters9

        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. On-Page Optimization
        4. Virtual URL Google not indexing?

        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?

        On-Page Optimization
        canonical duplicate site structure url issue
        2
        2
        1103
        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.
        • TAT100
          TAT100 Subscriber last edited by

          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

          hafizMoeed1 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • hafizMoeed1
            hafizMoeed1 @TAT100 last edited by

            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/

            1 Reply 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

            • Viktoriia1805

              The particular page cannot be indexed by Google

              indexing googlesearchconsole onpage

              Hello, Smart People!
              We need help solving the problem with Google indexing.
              All pages of our website are crawled and indexed. All pages, including those mentioned, meet Google requirements and can be indexed. However, only this page is still not indexed.
              Robots.txt is not blocking it.
              We do not have a tag "nofollow"
              We have it in the sitemap file.
              We have internal links for this page from indexed pages.
              We requested indexing many times, and it is still grey.
              The page was established one year ago.
              We are open to any suggestions or guidance you may have. What else can we do to expedite the indexing process?

              On-Page Optimization | | Viktoriia1805
              1
            • nb2e4fg

              Best SEO Structure For E-Commerce With Products Using Multiple Categories

              site structure seo

              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.
              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.

              Content Development | | nb2e4fg
              0
            • SEOfreshman

              Should I keep my existing site or start new?

              redirects urlredirect optimization site structure business

              I have a website with less than 3K visits a year. Only customers with an Account with me who have login credentials can see my product pricing and make a purchase onsite; therefore, indexing/page ranking is not a concern for me. My agency suggests that my product catalog be corrected to a parent/child relationship. Currently, each product variation has its own SKU and PDP. As a result, product findability: Site Search, Categorization, and Facets are a mess. Is there any way I can keep my current URL (branding purposes)? I thought we could delete all pages (PLPs & PDPs) and create all new and enforce 301 redirects. Thoughts?

              Community | | SEOfreshman
              1
            • webbutler13

              Correct .htaccess settings for canonical url?

              I want to forward all urls to http:www.mysite.com but am a little confuse because I am getting duplicate content error: Pages with Duplicate Page Content as of Jan 15http://titanappliancerepair.com/ 1 duplicatehttp://titanappliancerepair.com 1 duplicatehttp://titanappliancerepair.com/index.html 1 duplicate*****************************************************************What should I put ion htaccess file so I can forwardhttp://titanappliancerepair.com/index.htmlhttp://titanappliancerepair.comhttp://titanappliancerepair.com/to  http://www.titanappliancerepair.comor what is the correct way to do it?I'm confused because when I enter http://titanappliancerepair.com/ in browser it showshttp://titanappliancerepair.com so how can it be considered duplicate content?.Can someone help?I have godaddy and they have gave me this code to put RewriteEngine on
              rewritecond %{http_host} ^coolexample.com [nc]
              rewriterule ^(.)$ http://www.coolexample.com/$1 [r=301,nc]What is correct?

              On-Page Optimization | | webbutler13
              0
            • flcity15

              URL Domain Used in Meta Description

              Today I was asked if using a domain url in your meta description can have a negative impact on your website. This description includes a list of the homepage url, but directs visitors to a different internal page of the website. My concern fell with directing visitors to a different page of the site, but promoting the homepage in the description/snippet. With Penguin 2.1 release on the 4th, I'm very cautious of my links/urls. What are your thoughts behind this? What are the possible, if any negative impacts this could have on a site? This URL does have a brand name as so the Title.

              On-Page Optimization | | flcity15
              0
            • Comunicare

              Our sitemap is not indexed well

              Hey there, Hope you guys can help. We get the following error: Nested indexing. Another Sitemap index refers to the index of sitemaps. The thing is that we cant find the error they are talking about. Thanks!!!!

              On-Page Optimization | | Comunicare
              0
            • Amosnet

              Do images on a CDN affect my Google Ranking?

              I have recently switched my images to a CDN (MaxCDN) and all of the images within my post are now get loaded directly from the CDN. Will this affect my Google ranking? Do Google care if the image is hosted physicaly on the domain?

              On-Page Optimization | | Amosnet
              0
            • matt-14567

              Does it matter if your URL ends in .net or .com?

              Someone told me that having a URL that ends in .net (instead of .com) will hurt my site's SEO. Is that true?

              On-Page Optimization | | matt-14567
              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.