Case Study:
Canonicalization
This case study demonstrates the importance of proper canonicalization for optimal SEO performance. Addressing the duplicate content issue on Toysrus.com helped improve the website's overall SEO health, potentially leading to increased organic traffic, improved rankings, and a stronger online presence.
Resolving Canonicalization Issues for Improved SEO Performance on Toysrus.com
Client:
Toys"R"Us. American toy, clothing, and baby product company
Industry:
Ecommerce
Challenges:
Toysrus.com faced a significant SEO issue due to duplicate content caused by canonicalization problems. This resulted in:
- Crawlability and Indexing Issues: Search engines struggled to identify the "correct" version of a product page, potentially leading to some pages not being indexed or crawled effectively.
- Content Dilution: Duplicate content across multiple URLs could have diluted the website's overall SEO power, hindering its ranking potential.
- Lost Link Equity: Backlinks pointing to non-canonical URLs wouldn't contribute their full SEO value to the intended pages.
Solution:
A comprehensive approach was taken to address the canonicalization issues on Toysrus.com:
- Identification: Utilizing website crawling tools and SEO audits, all duplicate content and potential canonicalization errors were identified.
- Prioritization: Pages with the highest traffic, conversion potential, and backlink profile were prioritized for correction.
- Implementation: The correct canonical URL was identified for each duplicate page. This could involve:
- Rel=canonical Tag: Adding a rel=canonical tag to the duplicate page, specifying the preferred version for search engines.
- 301 Redirects: Implementing 301 redirects from the duplicate pages to the canonical URL, permanently directing search engines and users to the intended page.
- Verification: After implementation, the changes were monitored using SEO tools to ensure proper crawling and indexing of the canonical URLs.
Results:
By resolving the canonicalization issues, Toysrus.com experienced several positive SEO benefits:
- Improved Crawlability and Indexing: Search engines were able to effectively crawl and index the correct versions of product pages, ensuring all relevant content was visible in search results.
- Consolidated Content Value: The SEO power previously diluted across duplicates was concentrated on the correct pages, potentially leading to improved rankings.
- Enhanced Link Equity: Backlinks pointing to non-canonical URLs were redirected to the intended pages, maximizing their SEO value.
- Potential Traffic Increase: By addressing crawlability and indexation issues, Toysrus.com potentially gained additional organic traffic from search engines.
Irina Yekaterinoslavskaya
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