Canonical URL
Definition
A canonical URL is the preferred URL for a piece of content when duplicates or variants exist.
Why It Exists
It helps search engines consolidate ranking signals and avoid treating duplicate URLs as separate competing pages.
How It Fits Into The System
Canonical signals affect indexing. Sitemaps should usually include canonical URLs, not tracking variants or duplicate paths.
Important Details
Canonical is a hint, not an absolute command. Google can choose a different canonical if other signals disagree.
Example
https://sargonpiraev.com/build100 should be canonical instead of /build100?utm_source=x.