Glossary · definition
Canonicalisation
Declaring which URL is the authoritative version of a page that is reachable at several addresses. It fails silently: a canonical pointing at the wrong URL costs nothing visible while consolidating signals onto a page you did not intend.
Also written Canonicalization or Canonical tag. Atlas writes British English; the definition is the same.
01
Why it matters
The consequence, not the conceptSilence is the whole danger. Nothing breaks, no error is reported, and authority simply accrues to the wrong page — which is why canonicals belong in a build-time check rather than a quarterly audit.
02
Where Atlas works on this
2 routes04
Build visibility
Seven questionsA definition is only worth publishing if it is true of your site too. Atlas reads the site before the first conversation.