Page indexing · Why pages aren't indexed
Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user: how to fix it
The page names a canonical, but Google decided a different address is the original and indexed that one instead. Your canonical was read, weighed against the other signals, and outvoted.
What the status means
A canonical tag is a hint, not an order. Google also counts redirects, internal links, the sitemap, hreflang and the content of both pages, and when those point at another address it follows them.
Inspect the URL in Search Console to see both addresses: the user-declared canonical and the Google-selected one. The fix is to make every signal name the same address.
Why it happens
The canonical target does not work
It redirects, answers an error, or says noindex, so Google cannot use it as the original.
Internal links point elsewhere
Menus and links across the site use a different version of the address than the canonical names.
The sitemap disagrees
The sitemap lists the address Google chose, not the one in the canonical.
The other page looks like the original
The address Google chose has more internal links, more backlinks or the fuller version of the content, so Google treats it as the main one.
How to fix it
- Inspect the URL and note the Google-selected canonical next to the one you declared.
- Run the canonical checker below on your declared canonical: it must answer 200 without redirecting and must not say noindex.
- Change internal links, navigation included, to the declared canonical address.
- List only the declared canonical in the sitemap, and remove the address Google chose.
- If the address Google chose is a variant you do not want, redirect it to your canonical with a 301.
- If both pages should rank, make their content clearly different and give each a canonical to itself.
Check a page's canonical now
See where its redirects lead, what canonical it declares and whether Google can use it.
Questions
Why does Google not follow my canonical tag?
Because more of the other signals point at a different address: redirects, internal links, the sitemap or the content itself. Google uses the canonical as one input among several, so it wins only when the rest agree with it.
Should I just accept Google's choice?
If the address Google chose is a perfectly good one, yes: change your canonical to match it and the status clears. Fight it only when the chosen address is one you do not want people to land on.
How is this different from "Duplicate without user-selected canonical"?
There the page named no canonical and Google chose. Here the page named one and Google chose a different one. The second means your signals contradict each other.