Search engine optimization is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. As your site grows and Google’s algorithm evolves, inevitable SEO issues will likely occur.

Luckily, Google’s Search Console will identify many of those, representing opportunities to improve your organic rankings.

Duplicate Pages

Duplicate pages split link authority, meaning both pages have lower chances of ranking. Duplicate content is common for most sites for legitimate reasons. But you can negate the problem by:

  • Using redirects or canonical tags to point Google to the URL you want to rank,
  • Linking internally only to the canonical URL,
  • Including only the canonical version in the sitemap.

Search Console identifies (in its “Pages” section) duplicate pages that have internal inbound links, noting “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” or “Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user.”

Screenshot of a Google Search Console report: Why pages aren't indexing.

Search Console’s Pages section lists duplicates. Click image to enlarge.

Clicking any of the items in the report will take you to a list of URLs linked internally (or in the sitemap) but not indexed by Google. Use the “Inspect URL” link to the right to discover which page Google is indexing instead and which page links to the duplicate.

Once you fix the errors, update and resubmit the sitemap to force Google to recognize the changes faster.

Keyword Opportunities

Keyword research tools help uncover target search queries for, say, your product and category landing pages. But your competitors have access to the same tools.

What competitors don’t have is your Search Console data, which often includes queries you were unaware of — a competitive advantage.

However, these queries may not be generating traffic if you have not optimized for them. A minor on-page tweak will sometimes make a difference. For example, you may include a section on a page addressing the topic of the query or answering a related question. Alternatively, the queries could inspire a whole…


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