What is a Canonical URL? Why should you use one?
A canonical link (URL) is the link used to indicate the primary version of a webpage or article to point search engines to the primary source of an article.
It is primarily used to address issues related to duplicate content or multiple versions of the same content that can be accessed through different URLs.
Why use a Canonical URL
Using a canonical URL is particularly helpful when you have multiple URLs pointing to the same content, that is when similar content is published on different platforms by the same author.
The problem is having the same content on different platforms is bad for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so search engines like Google don't know which URL is relevant to a search query and since search engines tend to provide users with a diverse set of search results, they may choose to disregard your URLs.
Adding a Canonical URL in Hashnode
After writing your article on Hashnode, and proofreading for syntax and grammatical errors, go ahead and fetch the original URL from the source where you first uploaded the article then click the "Publish" button on the top right of your screen.
After clicking the Publish button a modal pops up from the right where you can paste the original URL you fetched earlier. In this modal, you will find an option to "Add Original URL". In the box there paste the original URL to the article.
Fill out other necessary fields concerning your article and click Publish.
Adding a Canonical URL on DEV.to
On the bottom of your Dev.to draft page, click the settings icon.
A pop-up modal appears in which you can paste the URL for the primary source for your post.
Conclusion
While posting your articles on multiple platforms is great for visibility and reaching a larger audience, doing it wrong can hurt your visibility and reduce the chances for your article to reach your target audience.
Using canonical URLs is the right way to go about sharing the same article on different platforms to help search engine ranking, so make sure you do it right next time.
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