<\/p>\n
Google offered a statement to clarify their support for the cross-domain canonical link element (rel=”canonical”), noting the limitations in how they use it, saying that they “try” to use cross-domain canonicals while noting where it is not recommended.<\/p>\n
Google this week wanted to simultaneously release multi-page updates targeting cross-domain canonicals, but instead they were released in a staggered fashion, leading to confusion over whether Google still supports cross-domain canonicals.<\/p>\n
There are two changes to note.<\/p>\n
1. Google clarified its guidance on duplicate content<\/a> for news publishers who distribute content to Google News.<\/p>\n Here’s the new content added to the guide on what to do with content syndication:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Tip: If you want to avoid duplication by syndication partners, the canonical link element is not recommended because syndicated articles tend to be very different in overall content from the original articles.<\/p>\n Instead, partners should use meta tags to block indexing of your content.<\/p>\n Learn more about the canonical link element<\/a>.<\/p>\n Avoid duplication on your own site Learn how to specify a canonical.<\/a>“<\/p>\n The update doesn’t represent a change in policy, it’s just meant to clarify guidelines on how to avoid duplication when syndicating content.<\/p>\n 2. Google also clarified the guidance on what content should be blocked from Google News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Specifically, the change was made for publishers who republish all content, such as from cable services, in collaboration with other publishers, or from public domain sources.<\/p>\n The most important change was to remove the guidance that encouraged publishers to consider using canonical.<\/p>\n The original page contained the following suggestion:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Consider blocking or canonical for reposted content”<\/p>\n The updated guide now suggests this:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Consider blocking reposted content”<\/p>\n Also, this part was changed to remove the suggestion to consider a canon.<\/p>\n
If you publish the same article on multiple pages of your site, you can use the rel=”canonical” link element.<\/p>\n