How to deal with rel=canonical when using POST parameters
-
Hi there,
I currently have a number of URLs throughout my site of the form:This sends the user through to a page showing hotels near the O2 Academy Islington. Once the page loads, my code looks at the parameters specified in the # part of the URL, and uses them to fill in a form, before submitting the form as a POST. This basically reloads the page, but checks the availability of the hotels first, and therefore returns slightly different content to the "canonical" version of this page (which simply lists the hotels before any availability checks done).
Until now, I've marked the page that has had availability checks as noindex,follow. But because the form was submitted with POST parameters, the URL looks exactly like the canonical one.
So the two URLs are identical, but due to POST parameters, the content is slightly different. Does that make sense?
My question is, should both versions of this page be marked as index,follow?
Thanks
Mike -
Handling rel=canonical with POST parameters indeed demands careful handling. Distinguishing content variations and marking the primary version, like showcasing hotels without availability checks, as canonical aligns with SEO principles, ensuring search engines prioritize the main version for enhanced search performance. It's like optimizing web content as intricate as selecting the perfect design from a Mardi Gras PNG collection for a vibrant online presence.
-
waiting a good reply and i also facing this issue. checking my website
-
waiting a good reply and i also facing this issue. checking my website
-
waiting a good reply and i also facing this issue. checking my website
-
@mjk26 Handling rel=canonical with POST parameters requires careful consideration. Despite identical URLs, the content differs due to the POST parameters. It's wise to mark both versions as index,follow, given Google's focus on user signals. For clarity, let's consider an example: Say, you have a page showcasing hotels near Premier Inn London Angel. One version lists hotels, while the other checks hotel availability before listing. Mark the version without availability checks as canonical to signify its primary content. This ensures search engines prioritize the main version while still acknowledging the alternate content. This approach aligns with SEO principles and enhances search performance.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
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.
Related Questions
-
NoIndex or Rel=Canonical Pagination
Hello, I had a question about noindex and Rel=Canonical on category page pagination. On my site, the category page the meta="robots" has "Index,Follow" tags and the rel="canonical" is the main category page, but when a user sorts the page the meta="robots" changes to "NoIndex, Follow." My question is should the sorted page be name="robots" content="INDEX,FOLLOW" /> since the rel="canonical" is pointing to the main page?? Or does it matter that it is NoIndex?? Any thoughts on this topic would be awesome. Thanks. Main Category Page
On-Page Optimization | | chuck-layton
https://www.site.com/category/
name="robots" content="INDEX,FOLLOW" />
rel="canonical" href="https://www.site.com/category/"/> Name Sorted Page
https://www.site.com/category/?dir=asc&order=name
name="robots" content="NOINDEX, FOLLOW" />
rel="canonical" href="https://www.site.com/category/">0 -
Noindex or canonical tag for products which have no unique product description?
I have several ecommerce sites in the same niche and there are a high number of products shared among these sites. I understand that having unique product descriptions for each site may be ideal, but for several reasons this is not an option for the short term. Sales-wise it would be useful to continue products on several sites at the same time. Also it would not be a problem if only the product pages of our main store would show up in the google index. I thought about adding noindex xrobots tag to avoid that product pages are indexed in more than one store to avoid issues with duplicated or thin content or would you implement canonical tag here? What would you suggest?
On-Page Optimization | | lcourse0 -
Dealing with Not Found errors
Hi, I have a problem with Google Webmaster, it reported that I have many errors 404 Not Found.
On-Page Optimization | | JohnHuynh
I have detected and found the links are coming from my site, I have fixed them and submit a new sitemap to google again. Then, I wait a few days, google still report errors 404 Not found same as before. I don't know why? Please help!0 -
Ref = Canonical
Does it make sense to use the Canonical statement on pages on your web site that already have the correct URL. Or, should I ask, "Does it do any harm?"
On-Page Optimization | | JustInsulation0 -
Rel Canonical
Hi Folks I have 77 Rel Canonical warning, and mostly confuse me. Mainly because they seem to be the exact link I would expect for that page. So I'm not so sure why they have been flagged.... two examples below Any thoughts or tips? (please 🙂 ) | Page Title
On-Page Optimization | | PHDAustralia68
URL | Tag value | Page Authority | Linking Root Domains | | BlueTea: New Sydney Kitchen Designs Company, Renovations, Colour Designs http://bluetea.com.au/ bluetea.com.au/ 37 18 Blog | Blue Tea http://bluetea.com.au/2010/10/?cat=15 | bluetea.com.au/category/blog/ | 1 | 0 |
| |0 -
Accepting Guest Posts On My Blog
I run a static website with a wordpress blog attached (www.example.com/blog). I'm thinking of allowing guest to post to the blog mainly just to get some fresh content on the blog instead of my own rantings. Is this a good idea from an seo perspective? I do know that I will get mostly people promoting their own sites but if the content is topically relevant and it's of some quality this should be okay, right? Any links in their post would be no follow so I wont loose there. If this is a go, how do I promote it so I get more people to posts? Am I thinking right on this? Good idea?
On-Page Optimization | | leaseman0 -
Advantages of Wordpress Pages versus Posts
I have a number of SEO focused articles that I would like to post to our site to help with content and rankings. I am wondering the advantages of posting the content as a page versus a post within Wordpress. Or even vice versa.
On-Page Optimization | | findachristianjob
Any thoughts on whether I should do as a page or post? Thanks.0 -
The Better Title to Use?
Hello Mozers- I am targeting the keywords "liposuction scottsdale", "liposuction phoenix", "liposuction mesa", "liposuction arizona". Out of the following two Titles below, one would you consider the better one? And Why? I am leaning towards the second example. If you have any more ideas that would be great. 1). Tummy Tuck Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Arizona 2).Tummy Tuck Scottsdale | Tummy Tuck Phoenix, Mesa, Arizona. Thanks!!
On-Page Optimization | | Red_Spot_Interactive0