When posting content to multiple platforms at the same time (such as your website and Medium), it's important to make sure a single source of that content is the ultimate authority. Medium’s official tools for cross-posting add the source it is importing from as the canonical link automatically, but you can also add your canonical link manually to your post.
Search engines use canonical links to determine and prioritize the ultimate source of content, removing confusion when there are multiple copies of the same document in different locations. Sites that publish an overabundance of duplicate content without indicating a canonical link may be penalized in search engine rankings.
Setting a canonical link on your post
- Enter edit mode either by starting a new draft, or by visiting your story page, clicking the three-dot button in the top-right corner and choosing Edit story.
- In edit mode, click the three-dot button in the top-right corner of the page.
- From the drop-menu, click More settings.
- On the More settings page, scroll down to Advanced Settings and select This story was originally published elsewhere.
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Enter your link and click Save canonical link. Make sure to click Publish to publish your changes.
Common questions
After you’ve published your post, right click on the page and choose “View page source”. Search for “canonical”, and the first result will show the link you imported from.