What This Report Shows

Here you’ll see pages with identical or nearly identical content. The report lists all URLs on your domain that serve the same content — a classic on-page issue.

What Duplicate Content Means

Duplicate content occurs when identical or very similar content is accessible under multiple URLs. For search engines, this is a problem: they must decide which version is the correct one. When they can’t, one of three things happens:

Both URLs rank poorly because Google can’t commit to one
Google chooses a version — but maybe not the one you prefer
One URL is not indexed at all

There are two types:

Internal duplicate content: Multiple URLs on your own domain serve the same content.

External duplicate content: Your content appears on third-party domains — or vice versa.

This report shows you only internal duplicate content.

Typical Causes of Duplicate Content

Duplicate content usually arises from technical errors or unfavorable URL structures:

URLs With and Without Trailing Slash

Example: example.com/page/ and example.com/page are technically two different URLs — but they show the same content.

Domain Variants (www vs. without www)

www.example.com and example.com are different addresses from a search engine’s perspective. Both accessible? Then you have duplicate content.

Parameters and Session IDs in URLs

URLs like example.com/product?sessionid=xyz or example.com/product?utm_source=newsletter technically create new pages — but the content remains the same.

Copied Content

Taking text from other pages or reusing your own content in multiple places — both lead to duplicate content.

How to Fix Duplicate Content

1. Consolidate Duplicate URLs

Determine which URL should be the primary version. Redirect all other variants via 301 redirect to this primary version. This leaves only one accessible version.

Example: Redirect example.com/page to example.com/page/ — or vice versa. Important: choose one variant and stay consistent.

2. Set a Canonical Tag

If you cannot or don’t want to consolidate the URLs, set a canonical tag. This tells Google which version is the primary one.

The canonical tag belongs in the <head> section of the page:

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

Important: The canonical tag is a signal, not a directive. Google can ignore it. A 301 redirect is more authoritative.

3. Handle Parameters Correctly

URLs with parameters (e.g., tracking codes, session IDs, filter options) should always canonicalize to the base URL. Use the canonical tag for this, or exclude parameters via robots.txt or Google Search Console.

4. Don’t Reuse Your Own Content

Write unique content for each URL. Every page needs individual, topic-relevant text — optimized for the respective keyword. Repetitions don’t earn you additional rankings.

5. Decide on www vs. without www

Choose one domain variant (with or without www) and set up a 301 redirect for the other. Also specify your preferred domain in Google Search Console.

Checklist: Avoiding Duplicate Content

Make only one domain variant accessible (www or without www)
Handle trailing slashes consistently (with or without /)
Set canonical tags on all parameterized URLs
Set up 301 redirects for all duplicate URLs
Don’t copy content from other sites
Don’t reuse your own texts in multiple places
Exclude parameters via Search Console or robots.txt

Summary

Duplicate content usually arises from technical errors: multiple URL variants, missing redirects, unfavorable parameters. The solution is simple in most cases: set up 301 redirects, add canonical tags, establish a clear URL structure. Write unique content for each URL — and you’ll have the problem under control permanently.

Fix Duplicate Content