: Canonicalization for www/non-www URLs and IP/domain on a Windows server I have checked my website using this SEO tool and the results report 2 issues: Test your site for potential URL canonicalization

@Ann8826881

Firstly, see the comment on my answer here. If you're not able to reach either the www or non-www URLs for your website, see the second part of my answer here. If you are able to reach both and they return the same content, then proceed with the following.

Assuming that you're using IIS (for ASP.net):

1.) Create a 301 redirect from either mydomain.com -> mydomain.com, or the reverse (either is fine, though many prefer the non-www version).

For IIS 7.x, as covered here the steps are:


Download and install IIS URL Rewrite 2.0 if not currently installed
Open IIS Manager and double-click on the “URL Rewrite” icon
Click on “Add Rules…” from the Actions pane
Name the rule you're about to create (i.e., “Redirect mydomain.com to www”)
From the dropdown box select Wildcards
Enter * for the “Pattern”
Expand the “Conditions” section and click “Add”
In the “Add Condition” dialogue enter the following:

Condition input: {HTTP_HOST}
Check if input string: Matches the Pattern
Pattern: mydomain.com (or mydomain.com if www is prefered)
Ignore case: checked
Click OK
In the Action section make sure that the “Action Type” is set to Redirect
For the “Action Properties”, enter www.domain.com/{R:0} (or use mydomain.com if www is prefered)
Be sure that the “Append query string” remains checked so that the querystring part is also retained
Be sure that the “Redirect Type” is set to Permanent (301)
Apply the rule and test


In Google Webmaster Tools, be sure to set your Preferred domain (www or non-www)

2.) See my answer here.

Lastly, it's always a good idea to do a little research to verify SEO advice, as there's lots of questionable information out there that can result in more work than is necessary, and sometimes result in additional problems for your site too.

Vote Up Vote Down