Canonical Links in Google Products

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-10-02 11:23-0700",
    "url": "https://gregorlove.com/2026/10/canonical-links-in-google-products/",
    "category": [
        "dev",
        "Google",
        "indieweb"
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    "name": "Canonical Links in Google Products",
    "content": {
        "text": "Short version: Adding the rel=canonical URL in your web pages is important for more than just search results. It can also impact link previews in other Google products like Docs.\n\nI recently ran into a weird edge case with link previews in Google Docs. A work client has an online directory and each profile has a unique permalink. Someone pasted their link in a Google Doc and clicked on it, which brought up a card preview showing the title. The title was showing the name of someone else\u2019s profile, though!\n\nMy first thought was something with Google\u2019s cache of the link preview, although the other person\u2019s name had never appeared at that link, so that didn\u2019t make much sense. I tried adding the link with a query string at the end: ?v=2026-10-02. With caching, that usually is seen as a unique URL and can avoid the cached response. Docs showed no preview initially, but after a couple minutes, it showed the same (incorrect) title.\n\nMy next thought was that these permalinks did not include a rel=canonical tag. The contents of the profile pages are largely similar except for the person\u2019s name and list of credentials. I didn\u2019t think that should be an issue, though, because the permalinks all contain a unique, 32-character identifier and no query strings. The links are very distinct and it did not make sense how Google would be picking another, seemingly random profile.\n\nI was pretty stumped at that point but decided to check Google Search Console. It reported \u201cPage is not indexed. Duplicate without user-selected canonical.\u201d It explained that since we had not specified the canonical URL, they had selected another permalink as the canonical. Sure enough, the one they had chosen was the name that was showing up in the link preview.\n\nThat de-duplication process makes sense when it comes to search results, but I didn\u2019t expect Docs to also be relying on that. I expected when you paste a URL, it should always show a link preview for that URL. It appears what they actually do is check the search index and use the canonical for the link preview only. They don\u2019t change the URL itself, so you can still click through and get to the intended location.\n\nThis definitely seems like a bug and is not in any Google documentation I could find, which is partly why I am writing this up. A StackOverflow answer also hypothesizes this behavior.",
        "html": "<p><b>Short version:</b> Adding the <code><a href=\"https://indieweb.org/rel-canonical\">rel=canonical</a></code> URL in your web pages is important for more than just search results. It can also impact link previews in other Google products like Docs.</p>\n\n<p>I recently ran into a weird edge case with link previews in Google Docs. A work client has an online directory and each profile has a unique permalink. Someone pasted their link in a Google Doc and clicked on it, which brought up a card preview showing the title. The title was showing the name of someone else\u2019s profile, though!</p>\n\n<p>My first thought was something with Google\u2019s cache of the link preview, although the other person\u2019s name had <em>never</em> appeared at that link, so that didn\u2019t make much sense. I tried adding the link with a query string at the end: <code>?v=2026-10-02</code>. With caching, that usually is seen as a unique URL and can avoid the cached response. Docs showed no preview initially, but after a couple minutes, it showed the same (incorrect) title.</p>\n\n<p>My next thought was that these permalinks did not include a <code><a href=\"https://indieweb.org/rel-canonical\">rel=canonical</a></code> tag. The contents of the profile pages are largely similar except for the person\u2019s name and list of credentials. I didn\u2019t think that should be an issue, though, because the permalinks all contain a unique, 32-character identifier and no query strings. The links are very distinct and it did not make sense how Google would be picking another, seemingly random profile.</p>\n\n<p>I was pretty stumped at that point but decided to check <a href=\"https://search.google.com/search-console\">Google Search Console</a>. It reported \u201cPage is not indexed. Duplicate without user-selected canonical.\u201d It explained that since we had not specified the canonical URL, they had selected another permalink as the canonical. Sure enough, the one they had chosen was the name that was showing up in the link preview.</p>\n\n<p>That de-duplication process makes sense when it comes to search results, but I didn\u2019t expect Docs to also be relying on that. I expected when you paste a URL, it should <em>always</em> show a link preview for that URL. It appears what they actually do is check the search index and use the canonical for the link preview only. They don\u2019t change the URL itself, so you can still click through and get to the intended location.</p>\n\n<p>This definitely seems like a bug and is not in any Google documentation I could find, which is partly why I am writing this up. A <a href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/a/65394303\">StackOverflow answer</a> also hypothesizes this behavior.</p>"
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    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "gRegor Morrill",
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{
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xovawoez4ljbddzuytbwxqfy/post/3mwuurcxmhk2p",
    "content": {
        "text": "It's weird that, despite all of the progress in SEO and AI, it's still possible to write a little blog article comparing email clients that is apparently important enough that startups will keep emailing to beg to be included on your list. #indieweb"
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    "author": {
        "type": "card",
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:kn4dz4f67maytvsbcnbry36k/post/3mwutxavz3c2p",
    "content": {
        "text": "At indieweb.org we have lots of resources to help you build your own independent web site. Talk to us at chat.indieweb.org \nWe have a github project to fork for a personal site at github.com/indieweb/bla... \nThere's discussion of other options on the wiki."
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    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "kevinmarks.com",
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:wgs7q4u4cifplpfpefir6nay/post/3mwuscd4vjs2e",
    "content": {
        "text": "I used #TikTok last year to post that video, I also put it up on my own site in #indieweb fashion! artlung.com/videos/reels... Long Live #WeirdWebOctober (2025 in this case)"
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        "name": "artlung.com",
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{
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    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
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    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@TheMoonZine/117371201394406950",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>We are an indie web home that currently has 15 short stories based on 5 random emojis.</p><p>Come join us: <a href=\"https://moon-zine.net\"><span>https://</span><span>moon-zine.net</span><span></span></a><br /><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/writingcommunity\">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/flashfiction\">#<span>flashfiction</span></a></p>",
        "text": "We are an indie web home that currently has 15 short stories based on 5 random emojis.\n\nCome join us: https://moon-zine.net\n#writingcommunity #indieweb #flashfiction"
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{
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    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@HisVirusness/117369944761494947",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>hVmark\u2019s vanilla reference on Github was always a sanitized clone of the original parser I had been using and iterating on for more than a year now. Well, I\u2019m sick of maintaining two codebases, so now the website runs off of the vanilla parser. The \u201coriginal parser\u201d has been reworked into a small translation layer, so the site-specific code remains intact to ensure functionality.</p><p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/hVmark\">#<span>hVmark</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/markup\">#<span>markup</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/markdown\">#<span>markdown</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/php\">#<span>php</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/webdev\">#<span>webdev</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/smallweb\">#<span>smallweb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "hVmark\u2019s vanilla reference on Github was always a sanitized clone of the original parser I had been using and iterating on for more than a year now. Well, I\u2019m sick of maintaining two codebases, so now the website runs off of the vanilla parser. The \u201coriginal parser\u201d has been reworked into a small translation layer, so the site-specific code remains intact to ensure functionality.\n\n#hVmark #markup #markdown #php #webdev #indieweb #smallweb"
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    "published": "2026-10-02T06:40:29+00:00",
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{
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:toeprth46la3hvcfuaamzz7c/post/3mwumvbrzvrq2",
    "content": {
        "text": "The 'Paperwork Flood': How I Drowned a Bureaucrat before dinner. https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-paperwork-flood/ #IndieWeb #Blog #Blogging #Blogs"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
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    "url": "https://caneandable.social/@WeirdWriter/117369636225200124",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>The 'Paperwork Flood': How I Drowned a Bureaucrat before dinner. <a href=\"https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-paperwork-flood/\"><span>https://</span><span>sightlessscribbles.com/posts/t</span><span>he-paperwork-flood/</span></a> <a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/Blog\">#<span>Blog</span></a> <a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/Blogging\">#<span>Blogging</span></a> <a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/Blogs\">#<span>Blogs</span></a></p>",
        "text": "The 'Paperwork Flood': How I Drowned a Bureaucrat before dinner. https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/the-paperwork-flood/ #IndieWeb #Blog #Blogging #Blogs"
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    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@TheMoonZine/117369313912662638",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Hey <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/ScienceFiction\">#<span>ScienceFiction</span></a> writers! \u270d\ufe0f</p><p>Be the first to write for Issue #4! Join our indie web zine and write a story inspired by 5 emojis.</p><p>Write here: <a href=\"https://moon-zine.net/write/genre/science-fiction\"><span>https://</span><span>moon-zine.net/write/genre/scie</span><span>nce-fiction</span></a><br /><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/writingcommunity\">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/ScienceFiction\">#<span>ScienceFiction</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Hey #ScienceFiction writers! \u270d\ufe0f\n\nBe the first to write for Issue #4! Join our indie web zine and write a story inspired by 5 emojis.\n\nWrite here: https://moon-zine.net/write/genre/science-fiction\n#writingcommunity #ScienceFiction #indieweb"
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    "published": "2026-10-02T04:00:03+00:00",
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-10-02T03:52:33.404Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:fdanj4axur2uzvplvwacsfn2/post/3mwuhv7elrs2p",
    "content": {
        "text": "wiiverberate.neocities.org/builder/\n\nWorking on rebuilding the site using the editor, its quick easy and been fun, should be up come tomorrow.\n\nGo try my web editor if you know html , or do neocities.\n\n#indieweb #html #neocities #webdesign #indiedev #webcore"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "wiiverberate.bsky.social",
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-10-02T03:23:44.477Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:6y7ibub5x3xpfw5fk4w6c6sw/post/3mwugbojjss2k",
    "content": {
        "text": "39.4M domains known. 26.3M pages indexed. cl0q is an independent search engine, built from scratch on its own crawl. And it's going open source soon. The web needs an index nobody owns. #opensource #indieweb #atproto"
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    "author": {
        "type": "card",
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{
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:6y7ibub5x3xpfw5fk4w6c6sw/post/3mwudjfgv2c2k",
    "content": {
        "text": "39.4M domains known. 26.3M pages indexed. 13M+ still waiting in the queue. The web is bigger than any index admits. We're on it. #indieweb #searchengine #opendata"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "cl0qsearch.bsky.social",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/cl0qsearch.bsky.social",
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:6y7ibub5x3xpfw5fk4w6c6sw/post/3mwud76chs22x",
    "content": {
        "text": "39.9% of the web's subdomain hubs belong to Blogspot. 1,025,440 sites living under one roof. The independent web didn't die, it just moved into a giant apartment building. We're crawling all of it: 26.3M pages and counting. cl0q.com #IndieWeb #OpenWeb"
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qf7cfphit2fw37j5y4wk7a3o/post/3mwubxgbihs2q",
    "content": {
        "text": "New blog post: AI chats may display inaccurate or offensive information.\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/ai-chats-may-display-inaccurate-or-offensive-information/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:qf7cfphit2fw37j5y4wk7a3o/post/3mwubxgdpo22m",
    "content": {
        "text": "New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: Nature appreciation\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-nature-appreciation/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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    "content": {
        "text": "New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: Outdoor activities\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-outdoor-activities/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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        "text": "New blog post: Last night\u2019s National Call to Action for Faith Communities\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/last-nights-national-call-to-action-for-faith-communities/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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        "text": "New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: Technology\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-technology/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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        "text": "New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: TV Shows\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-tv-shows/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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        "html": "<p>New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: Nature appreciation</p><p><a href=\"https://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-nature-appreciation/\"><span>https://</span><span>stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-ques</span><span>tions-challenge-nature-appreciation/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://dmv.community/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://dmv.community/tags/Blog\">#<span>Blog</span></a> <a href=\"https://dmv.community/tags/Blogger\">#<span>Blogger</span></a></p>",
        "text": "New blog post: Blog Questions Challenge: Nature appreciation\n\nhttps://stevenbrady.com/blog/blog-questions-challenge-nature-appreciation/\n\n#IndieWeb #Blog #Blogger"
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