Google’s John Mueller advises site owners against mixing signals like noindex and rel=canonical. These signals provide conflicting information, and Google tends to prioritize rel=canonical over noindex when both are present.
Mueller shared this guidance in response to questions on a Reddit thread, where a user inquired:
– Does Google ignore a self-referential canonical when there is a noindex in the HTML markup?
– What are the disadvantages of a noindex compared to a canonical?
Another user noted that rel=canonical is useful when a 301-redirect isn’t feasible, as it ensures that signals, like inbound links, point to the canonical page. Mueller confirmed this information and emphasized the importance of not mixing signals.
Additionally, Mueller explained that using noindex without rel=canonical does not provide clear instructions for canonicalization. Noindex alone doesn’t inform Google about transferring signals between pages. To clearly indicate a preferred page to Google for forwarding signals, site owners should use methods like:
– Redirects
– Rel=canonical
– Internal links
– External links
– Sitemaps
– hreflang
Mueller stated that better alignment of these signals increases the likelihood that Google will select the correct canonical page.
