> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.get-ryze.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fixing duplicate content and canonicals

> The duplicate content patterns specific to Shopify — collection paths, variant parameters, and supplier descriptions — and how canonical tags resolve them.

Duplicate content on Shopify is mostly structural: the platform exposes the same product at several URLs by design. The rest is copy duplicated across stores.

## Shopify's built-in duplication

The same product is reachable at:

```
/products/trail-boot
/collections/hiking/products/trail-boot
/collections/sale/products/trail-boot
```

Shopify canonicalises all of these to `/products/trail-boot`. This is correct default behaviour and generally does not need changing.

What does need attention: **internal links should point at the canonical URL directly**. Linking through collection paths wastes crawl and sends mixed signals, even with canonicals in place.

## Other common sources

| source                                                      | fix                                                                     |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Variant parameters                                          | Canonical to parent — see [product variants](/shopify/product-variants) |
| Filter and sort parameters                                  | Block in `robots.txt`; do not rely on canonicals alone                  |
| Supplier product descriptions                               | Rewrite — this is the biggest one                                       |
| Near-identical collections                                  | Merge, redirect the loser                                               |
| Paginated pages canonicalised to page 1                     | Stop doing this; it hides those products                                |
| `.myshopify.com` domain indexed alongside the custom domain | Ensure canonicals and redirects resolve to the custom domain            |

## How canonicals actually work

A canonical tag is a **hint**, not a directive. Google may choose a different canonical if signals disagree — for example, if internal links, sitemaps, and canonicals point to different URLs.

Make the signals agree:

* Canonical tag points to the preferred URL
* Internal links use the preferred URL
* Sitemap contains only the preferred URL
* Redirects resolve to the preferred URL

Check Search Console → Pages for "Duplicate, Google chose different canonical" — that report tells you where your signals conflict.

## Supplier descriptions

The most damaging duplicate content on most stores is not structural. It is the manufacturer's description used verbatim on hundreds of competing stores.

Canonicals cannot help here — the duplication is across domains. The only fix is rewriting. See [product descriptions at scale](/ecommerce/product-descriptions-at-scale).

## What not to do

* **Do not `noindex` duplicates that should be canonicalised.** `noindex` removes the page entirely rather than consolidating its signals.
* **Do not block duplicates in `robots.txt` and also canonicalise them.** A blocked page cannot be crawled, so its canonical is never read.
* **Do not delete duplicate pages that have links or traffic.** Redirect them.

## What Ryze does

Ryze detects duplicate URLs and conflicting canonicals during the [audit](/shopify/audit), and ships duplicate URL resolution with approval.

## Related

* [Product variant markup](/shopify/product-variants)
* [URL redirects and migrations](/shopify/redirects)