Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Find competitor keywords with NEW Keyword Gap
      Moz Pro

      Find competitor keywords with NEW Keyword Gap

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Check yours now
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Technical SEO
    4. Google keeps marking different pages as duplicates

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Google keeps marking different pages as duplicates

    Technical SEO
    seo
    4
    4
    940
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • TuanDo9627
      TuanDo9627 Subscriber last edited by

      My website has many pages like this:

      mywebsite/company1/valuation

      mywebsite/company2/valuation

      mywebsite/company3/valuation

      mywebsite/company4/valuation

      ...

      These pages describe the valuation of each company.

      These pages were never identical but initially, I included a few generic paragraphs like what is valuation, what is a valuation model, etc... in all the pages so some parts of these pages' content were identical.

      Google marked many of these pages as duplicated (in Google Search Console) so I modified the content of these pages: I removed those generic paragraphs and added other information that is unique to each company. As a result, these pages are extremely different from each other now and have little similarities.

      Although it has been more than 1 month since I made the modification, Google still marks the majority of these pages as duplicates, even though Google has already crawled their new modified version. I wonder whether there is anything else I can do in this situation?

      Thanks

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • skchad13j
        skchad13j last edited by

        Google may mark different pages as duplicates if they contain very similar or identical content. This can happen due to issues such as duplicate metadata, URL parameters, or syndicated content. To address this, ensure each page has unique and valuable content, use canonical tags when appropriate, and manage URL parameters in Google Search Console.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Suvidit-Academy
          Suvidit-Academy last edited by

          Yes, there are a few other things you can do if Google is still marking your pages as duplicates after you have modified them to be unique:

          • Check your canonical tags. Canonical tags tell Google which version of a page is the preferred one to index. If you have canonical tags in place and they are pointing to the correct pages, then Google should eventually recognize that the duplicate pages are not actually duplicates.

          • Use the URL parameter tool in Google Search Console. This tool allows you to tell Google which URL parameters it should treat as unique and which ones it should ignore. This can be helpful if you have pages with similar content but different URL parameters, such as pages for different product categories or pages with different sorting options.

          • Request a recrawl of your website. You can do this in Google Search Console. Once Google has recrawled your website, it will be able to see the new, modified versions of your pages.

          If you have done all of the above and Google is still marking your pages as duplicates, then you may need to contact Google Support for assistance.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • educationedge012
            educationedge012 last edited by

            If Google is marking different pages on your website as duplicates, it can negatively impact your website's search engine rankings. Here are some common reasons why Google may be doing this and steps you can take to address the issue:

            Duplicate Content: Google's algorithms are designed to filter out duplicate content from search results. Ensure that your website does not have identical or near-identical content on multiple pages. Each page should offer unique and valuable content to users.

            URL Parameters: If your website uses URL parameters for sorting, filtering, or tracking purposes, Google may interpret these variations as duplicate content. Use canonical tags or the URL parameter tool in Google Search Console to specify which version of the URL you want to be indexed.

            Pagination: For websites with paginated content (e.g., product listings, blog archives), ensure that you implement rel="next" and rel="prev" tags to indicate the sequence of pages. This helps Google understand that the pages are part of a series and not duplicates.

            www vs. non-www: Make sure you have a preferred domain (e.g., www.example.com or example.com) and set up 301 redirects to the preferred version. Google may treat www and non-www versions as separate pages with duplicate content.

            HTTP vs. HTTPS: Ensure that your website uses secure HTTPS. Google may view HTTP and HTTPS versions of the same page as duplicates. Implement 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS to resolve this.

            Mobile and Desktop Versions: If you have separate mobile and desktop versions of your site (e.g., responsive design or m.example.com), use rel="alternate" and rel="canonical" tags to specify the relationship between the two versions.

            Thin or Low-Quality Content: Pages with little or low-quality content may be flagged as duplicates. Improve the content on such pages to provide unique value to users.

            Canonical Tags: Implement canonical tags correctly to indicate the preferred version of a page when there are multiple versions with similar content.

            XML Sitemap: Ensure that your XML sitemap is up-to-date and accurately reflects your website's structure. Submit it to Google Search Console.

            Avoid Scraped Content: Ensure that your content is original and not scraped or copied from other websites. Google penalizes sites with duplicate or plagiarized content.

            Check for Technical Errors: Use Google Search Console to check for crawl errors or other technical issues that might be causing duplicate content problems.

            Structured Data: Ensure that your structured data (schema markup) is correctly implemented on your pages. Incorrectly structured data can confuse search engines.

            Regularly monitor Google Search Console for any duplicate content issues and take prompt action to address them. It's essential to provide unique and valuable content to your website visitors while ensuring that search engines can correctly index and rank your pages.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • 1 / 1
            • First post
              Last post

            Got a burning SEO question?

            Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


            Start my free trial


            Browse Questions

            Explore more categories

            • Moz Tools

              Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

            • SEO Tactics

              Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

            • Community

              Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

            • Digital Marketing

              Chat about tactics outside of SEO

            • Research & Trends

              Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

            • Support

              Connect on product support and feature requests.

            • See all categories

            Related Questions

            • nb2e4fg

              Best SEO Structure For E-Commerce With Products Using Multiple Categories

              site structure seo

              Hi all, I am in the process of re-structuring my e-commerce website for better SEO and user experience. I have done some keyword research and would like some advice on how best to structure my site around those keywords. For example, my site (All Things Nature) sells a brand of wooden sculptures (Woodsculp) and I would like to rank for keywords related to that brand, the brand by animal, the brand by collection and the brand by release date.
              Examples of keywords could be: Brand by Animal: Woodsculp Dogs, Woodsculp Cats, Woodsculp Elephants
              Brand by Collection: Woodsculp Pets, Woodsculp Safari
              Brand by Release Date: Woodsculp Christmas 2023, Woodsculp Summer 2022 I would create each of these keywords as a category so that they can be found by a search engine and by users. I would then structure as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Pets
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Summer 2022 The only problem with this structure is it would take more than 3 clicks (4) for the user to reach a product. How critical is this for good SEO and user experience? Would I be better off getting rid of the ‘Woodsculp by Animal’, ‘Woodsculp by Collection’ and ‘Woodsculp by Release Date’ categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Safari
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The only thing with this is there would be a lot of categories under the brand name which might make it more difficult for search engines and users to logically follow. Would I be better off getting rid of the brand category and replace them with the keyword categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 This would organise things more logically but I would then lose the brand category (and the potential of the brand keyword ranking?) Would I be better off choosing one main keyword to use as a category and then use tags for the other categories? Categories: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
              All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants Tags: Woodsculp Safari
              Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The next issue I have is that I have products which could fall under several different categories. A product called Elijah Elephant, for example could fall under Woodsculp Elephants, Woodsculp Safari and Woodsculp Summer 2022. In previous e-commerce sites I have never assigned multiple categories to one product (I instead have used tags). Is it good practice to organise products under multiple categories for an e-commerce site? Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

              Content Development | | nb2e4fg
              0
            • ciehmoz

              Will skipping <H> tags affect your SEO?

              seo

              Will skipping <H> tags on a page have any impact on your SEO, e.g. skipping a <H2> so your page has a <H1> and then goes to a <H3>? Obviously a page must have a <H1>, but does it matter if you skip other headings?

              Technical SEO | | ciehmoz
              0
            • webdropyyc

              Need help with Meta tags generator

              meta tags seo

              Hello, I am doing SEO for my business website. I am trying to generate Meta Tags here
              https://webdrop.ca/seo-tools/meta-tag-generator What should I enter for "Search engines should revisit this page after ". We are not going to change content on daily basis. 7 Days or 30 days are good enough?

              On-Page Optimization | | webdropyyc
              0
            • JoelssonMedia

              Page disappears from Google search results

              Hi, I recently encountered a very strange problem.
              One of the pages I published in my website ranked very well for a couple of days on top 5, then after a couple of days, the page completely vanished, no matter how direct I search for it, does not appear on the results, I check GSC, everything seems to be normal, but when checking Google analytics, I find it strange that there is no data on the page since it disappeared and it also does not show up on the 'active pages' section no matter how many different computers i keep it open. I have checked to page 9, and used a couple of keyword tools and it appears nowhere! It didn't have any back links, but it was unique and high quality. I have checked on the page does still exist and it is still readable. Has this ´happened to anyone before? Any thoughts would be gratefully received.

              Technical SEO | | JoelssonMedia
              0
            • vidi3423

              Does Page speed matter for google ranking?

              We are not sure that page does matter or not for google ranking as I am working for this keyword "flower delivery in Bangalore" from last few months and I saw some website's google first page who have low page speed but still ranking so I am really worried about my page that has also low page speed. will my Bangalore page rank on google the first page if the speed is low and kindly suggest me more tips for the ranking best factors which really works in 2020 and one more thing that domain authority really matters in this year? as I also saw some websites with low domain authority and ranking on google's first page. Home page: Flowerportal Bangalore page: https://flowerportal.in/flower-delivery/bangalore/ focus Keyword is: Flower delivery in Bangalore, send flowers to Bangalore

              Technical SEO | | vidi3423
              1
            • Pete4

              Why is Google Webmaster Tools showing 404 Page Not Found Errors for web pages that don't have anything to do with my site?

              I am currently working on a small site with approx 50 web pages.  In the crawl error section in WMT Google has highlighted over 10,000 page not found errors for pages that have nothing to do with my site.  Anyone come across this before?

              Technical SEO | | Pete4
              0
            • Datel

              Is Google suppressing a page from results - if so why?

              UPDATE: It seems the issue was that pages were accessible via multiple URLs (i.e. with and without trailing slash, with and without .aspx extension). Once this issue was resolved, pages started ranking again. Our website used to rank well for a keyword (top 5), though this was over a year ago now. Since then the page no longer ranks at all, but sub pages of that page rank around 40th-60th. I searched for our site and the term on Google (i.e. 'Keyword site:MySite.com') and increased the number of results to 100, again the page isn't in the results. However when I just search for our site (site:MySite.com) then the page is there, appearing higher up the results than the sub pages. I thought this may be down to keyword stuffing; there were around 20-30 instances of the keyword on the page, however roughly the same quantity of keywords were on each sub pages as well. I've now removed some of the excess keywords from all sections as it was getting in the way of usability as well, but I just wanted some thoughts on whether this is a likely cause or if there is something else I should be worried about.

              Technical SEO | | Datel
              1
            • Ideas-Money-Art

              How long does it take for Google for deindexing pages?

              Hi mozzers, We just launched a mobile website(parallel) and realized that it created many duplicate content with desktop URLs. I decided to add name="robots" content="No index, No follow" /> to the entire mobile site. My only concern is that I am still seeing the mobile site indexed when it's been almost a week I added these tags. Does anyone know how long it takes google to deindex your content? Thanks

              Technical SEO | | Ideas-Money-Art
              0

            Get started with Moz Pro!

            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

            Start my free trial
            Products
            • Moz Pro
            • Moz Local
            • Moz API
            • Moz Data
            • STAT
            • Product Updates
            Moz Solutions
            • SMB Solutions
            • Agency Solutions
            • Enterprise Solutions
            Free SEO Tools
            • Domain Authority Checker
            • Link Explorer
            • Keyword Explorer
            • Competitive Research
            • Brand Authority Checker
            • MozBar Extension
            • MozCast
            Resources
            • Blog
            • SEO Learning Center
            • Help Hub
            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
            • How-to Guides
            • Moz Academy
            • API Docs
            About Moz
            • About
            • Team
            • Careers
            • Contact
            Why Moz
            • Case Studies
            • Testimonials
            Get Involved
            • Become an Affiliate
            • MozCon
            • Webinars
            • Practical Marketer Series
            • MozPod
            Connect with us

            Contact the Help team

            Join our newsletter
            Moz logo
            © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
            • Accessibility
            • Terms of Use
            • Privacy

            Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.