Canonical URL Example

This page demonstrates the canonical_url frontmatter option which allows you to specify a custom canonical URL for SEO purposes.

What is a Canonical URL?

A canonical URL tells search engines which URL is the “official” version of a page when the same or similar content exists at multiple URLs. This helps prevent duplicate content issues and consolidates link equity.

Usage

Add the canonical_url property to your frontmatter:

---
title: My Page Title
canonical_url: https://example.com/the-canonical-version
---

This Page’s Configuration

This page uses:

canonical_url: https://example.com/the-canonical-version

This generates the following HTML in the <head>:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/the-canonical-version" />

Use Cases

Canonical URLs are useful when:

You have similar content accessible at multiple URLs
You’re migrating content from another site and want to point to the original
You have both www and non-www versions of your site
You have HTTP and HTTPS versions of the same content
You’re syndicating content that originally appeared elsewhere

Notes

The canonical URL should be a full, absolute URL including the protocol
This does not redirect users - it only signals to search engines
Only use canonical URLs when content is genuinely duplicated or very similar

Last updated: January 6, 2026by Claude

Edit this page