Duplicate pages in the catalog: where they come from
LightSEO · Technical
Duplicate pages in the catalog: where they come from
Duplicates are one of the most common reasons a store ranks poorly. Pages with nearly identical content compete with each other, and the search engine can't tell which one to show.
6
common sources of duplicates
Sources
Where duplicates come from
Filters and sorting. Every combination creates a new URL with the same set of products.
A product in several categories. When the platform generates different URLs for different paths to the product.
Pagination. Pages 2, 3, 4 with identical meta tags and repeated category text.
Versions with and without www, http and https. Technically these are four different websites unless redirects are set up.
Trailing slash. A page with it and without it are two different URLs for a search engine.
Tracking parameters. Ad tags create new URLs for the same page.
Solutions
How to fix them
🔗
Canonical
Indicates which URL is the main one. The basic tool for filters and parameters.
↪️
301 redirect
For technical duplicates: www, trailing slash, outdated URLs.
🚫
Indexing rules
Filter and sorting combinations are closed from indexing by default.
Checking
How to find duplicates on your site
Search Console. The indexing report shows pages excluded as duplicates – a ready-made list of problems.
Searching for a piece of text. If the same paragraph turns up on dozens of your pages, that is duplicate content.
Comparing page counts. If the index holds three times more pages than products and categories combined, something is wrong.
Suspect duplicates in the index?
We will run a technical audit: we will find every source of duplicates and give you a plan of what to close and where to set canonical.
