What is the best way to handle duplicate content in WordPress?

[mansirani]

1. Use Canonical Tags:
   • Add canonical tags to your pages to tell search engines the preferred version of content. This is especially useful if you have duplicate content across different pages or URLs (like pagination or category pages).
   • Most SEO plugins like Yoast or RankMath automatically handle this for you.
2. 301 Redirects:
   • If you have duplicate content that shouldn't exist (e.g., similar articles), use 301 redirects to guide users and search engines to the correct page.
   • You can implement redirects using plugins like Redirection or by modifying your .htaccess file.
3. Noindex Duplicate Pages:
   • For pages like tag or category archives, which often have duplicate content, set them to "noindex" so search engines don't index them. You can do this using SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or RankMath.
4. Consolidate Similar Content:
   • If you have multiple pages covering similar topics, consider merging them into one comprehensive article. This can reduce content duplication and improve the overall quality of your site.
5. Set Up Pagination Properly:
   • For paginated content (like multi-page blog posts), ensure you’re using the correct pagination tags (rel="next", rel="prev") to inform search engines of the relationship between pages.
6. Use a Sitemap:
   • Make sure your XML sitemap only includes the preferred versions of pages, which will help search engines index the right content.
7. Avoid Using Duplicate Content Across Multiple Sites:
   • If you are running a network of sites, make sure not to copy content across them without making adjustments to prevent them from being flagged as duplicate content.