Canonical difficulties occur when a website has duplicate URLs. This article explains what IP canonicalization is and how to fix it by yourself.
Search engine results show the domain name and IP address as two separate copies of the same page. Both www/non-www and http/https versions display duplicate content in this case. Canonicalization redirects your IP address to the hostname, which helps SEO. When canonicalizing an IP address, the website’s main domain is redirected. You may be aware that repeating content on your website can hurt your search engine rating. This and additional versions are mentioned below:
www.website.com
www.website.com/index.php
website.com
website.com/index.php
To summarize, IP canonicalization keeps duplicate content from being indexed on your website.
An IP address is entered in the canonicalization test page to find if it redirects to its host name.
If entering the URL doesn’t do the trick, add the IP address to check.
If your IP address is genuine, you should have no problem with the redirect; if it isn’t, you should check your address for duplicates.
Search engine bots may not know which page to display if your domain name and IP address do not resolve to the same page. As a result, your hard-earned unique content may not be found. They pick a single URL that matches your IP address and domain name, which may not be yours. As a result, your original content will be ranked.
In this case, your site’s traffic is split across the two URLs. As a result, receiving backlinks from different URLs splits your link juice and site authority. As a result, your website’s rating will be lowered. Your site’s traffic and link equity should be centralized. IP canonicalization helps your site rank higher.
In order to set up the IP canonicalization, follow these two simple steps.
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^xxx\.xxx\.xxx\.xxx [nc,or]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example\.com [nc]
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Replace the “example” domain name with your actual domain name and xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with your dedicated IP address.
Let’s start with the obvious. Check to determine that the IP address of your site redirects to your domain name. If not, fix your IP address canonicalization.
To check for canonicalization difficulties, utilize the IP address from your traceroute. You’ll also obtain useful information like your IP address’s canonicalization ranking.
Using tools does not require your IP address. Simply add your website’s URL, and you’re done.
Go to your WordPress Dashboard’s Settings:
Select General Settings from the drop-down menu.
The two most important lines right now areSite URL and WordPress URL (URL). Both should be identical.
Canonical difficulties occur in many situations, but these are a few of the most common:
Here you can see if your fixes worked and if there were any issues. You can use the following ways to test it:
Your IP address can be entered in your browser to see if it redirects to the canonical domain name. If it does, your fixes worked.
cURL is a command line tool that makes HTTP requests without requiring a web browser. So, on your command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Linux/MacOS), type:
/ yourserverip/curl
To check if your domain name and IP address are the same:
It may take some time for your site to display here, particularly if you’ve recently resolved IP canonicalization issues.
A redirect from the IP address to the main domain name address should be set up. If you’re not sure whether such a redirect already exists, you can run the Sitechecker tool’s IP canonicalization test. It displays whether your domain redirects to a domain name that you specify. Use an IP address checker to see what your exact public IP address is — IPv4 or IPv6.