Implementing a canonical domain

Paul Middleton

— 2 min read
Implementing a canonical domain
Photo by Lance Grandahl / Unsplash

From an SEO perspective, the best way to maximise the benefit of your SEO tactics is to implement a canonical domain (your preferred version of your website address, like https://www.example.com).

The following steps describe how to implement a canonical domain for optimum SEO benefit.

✅ 1. Choose Your Canonical Domain

Pick one:

  • https://example.com or
  • https://www.example.com

Preferably with HTTPS.

💡 Google treats example.com and www.example.com as two separate websites unless you specify otherwise.

✅ 2. 301 Redirect All Non-Canonical Versions

Set up permanent (301) redirects from all alternate versions to your chosen canonical version:

http://example.com       → https://www.example.com
http://www.example.com   → https://www.example.com
https://example.com      → https://www.example.com

This can be done at the page level (using scripts), at the server level (using routing), or at the DNS level, before the request even makes it to your server.

DOMAINSAFE uses Cloudflare to implement canonical redirects at the DNS level.

In your HTML <head> section:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/page-path" />

This can be difficult if you don't have access to the page code. Many content management systems, for example Squarespace, include canonical tags automatically.

✅ 4. Set the Preferred Domain in Google Search Console

If you’re using Google Search Console, add both:

  • https://example.com
  • https://www.example.com

And set your preferred domain under Settings → Preferred domain (for older versions) or just verify both and use canonicalization + redirection for modern GSC.

  • Your XML sitemap should list only canonical URLs (links that start with the canonical domain).
  • Internal links throughout your site should consistently use the canonical domain.

✅ 6. Avoid Duplicate Content Across Versions

Canonical domain setup helps search engines:

  • Avoid indexing the same page multiple times
  • Consolidate link equity (SEO "juice") to the correct version

💡 Bonus: Test It

  • Use Google's URL Inspection Tool to confirm which URL is treated as canonical
  • Use DOMAINSAFE's domain Healthcheck feature to test all common variations of your domain name.

DOMAINSAFE offers small businesses and creative agencies specialist domain name and DNS management services to ensure your websites have a canonical domain implemented to maximise your SEO efforts.

Get in touch today to learn how we can help your business.

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