le no longer recommends using canonical tags in syndicated content
Google has now stated that the canonical element is not recommended when it comes to syndicated material. Instead, Google recommends blocking the access of syndicated material in order to prevent duplication. Google has posted this information in the help document.
What’s new. Google has posted this paragraph in the “syndicated content” section.
“The canonical element is not recommended to those who want to avoid duplication of content by syndication partners because the pages are usually very different. It is best for your partners to stop indexing your content. “For more information, please see Avoid duplicate articles in Google News. This also contains advice about blocking syndicated search results.”
Do not use canonicals when syndicating content. Previous Google <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-explains-why-syndicators-may-outrank-original-publishers-322327#:~:text=No%20canonical.%20John,is%20the%20original%20source. The advice was to make sure that those who syndicated content used a canonical attribute to inform Google that it is a copy of your site. It didn't stop syndicated from outranking its original source. Google suggested you block or use canonical tags. Google wrote, “Publishers who allow others to republish their content can ensure that the original versions perform better on Google News by asking republishers to block or use canonical. Google News encourages republishers to consider blocking content or using the canonical tag, so we can identify and credit the original content appropriately.
Google News already had a tag that indicated the source for your content. Google no longer supports it because it was not used.
Why we care. Google has now said that the canonical tag will not work if you’ve been syndicating content and used it to avoid duplication. Google instead wants you to ensure that the page is not indexed.
It is not (or was never) a good strategy to make sure your content outranks your syndication partners if you require your publishers to use the canonical tags.
Can you make them block Google content? I doubt it.
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