Google Clarifies Simultaneous Use of Canonical & Noindex

Google’s John Mueller has clarified the longstanding confusion regarding the simultaneous use of the noindex rule and the canonical tag on the same page. This clarification comes after a 2021 statement where Mueller suggested that using both might “maybe” work, leaving many webmasters uncertain about the best practices.

Mueller explained, “The noindex rule is a directive that Google must obey. The rel=canonical is a strong signal that can be ignored “. While the noindex rule ensures a page is not indexed, the canonical tag suggests which URL should be considered the primary version.

In 2021, Mueller mentioned in an SEO Office Hours Hangout video that it was possible to use both noindex and canonical tags together, albeit with some uncertainty. He stated, “You can also do both of them. And it’s something… if external links, for example, are pointing at this page, then having both of them there helps us figure out that you don’t want this page indexed, but you also specified another one. So maybe some of the signals we can forward along.”, according to Search Engine Journal.

However, his latest statement provides a more definitive answer, emphasizing that while the noindex rule will keep a page out of the index, the canonical tag can still help forward signals to the preferred URL.

Mueller’s clarification is a significant step towards better understanding and implementing SEO best practices. He noted, “An HTML element is like a building block of a web page. An attribute (like rel=canonical) modifies the element with additional information “. This analogy helps us comprehend how these elements interact and the importance of using them correctly.