Definition
Canonical URL
A canonical URL is the single preferred address for a page, declared with a `rel="canonical"` tag so engines consolidate duplicate or near-duplicate versions onto one URL. It prevents your authority from being split across multiple addresses.
Clean canonicals help engines build one coherent entity for each page, part of the same clarity that structured data provides.
Why do canonical URLs matter?
They tell engines which version of a page is authoritative, so ranking and citation signals consolidate onto one URL instead of being diluted across duplicates.