Quick answer
Duplicate URLs are different addresses that serve the same or substantially similar content, such as a clean path and several query-parameter variants. NOTABIS provides separate evidence for duplicate content, duplicate metadata, canonical signals, redirects, and long or parameter-heavy URLs. Choose one preferred representation, then align links, canonicals, redirects, and sitemaps with it.
What the issue means
These URLs may describe one page:
/guides/tyre-storage
/guides/tyre-storage?utm_source=newsletter
/print/guides/tyre-storage
Some variants are intentional: filters, sorting, pagination, language, or a printer view may change the response. Others arise from tracking parameters, case and slash differences, old routes, or duplicated CMS records. Similar URLs are a structural problem only when their purpose and indexability are unclear.
Why it matters for SEO
Search engines must group duplicate or near-duplicate URLs and choose a representative. Uncontrolled variants can consume crawl activity, split internal links, and produce inconsistent snippets. Canonicalisation and redirects help, but Google can choose a different canonical when content, links, and other signals disagree. Duplicate content is not automatically a penalty.
How NOTABIS detects it
NOTABIS hashes normalized text to identify exact duplicate content among crawled pages, groups repeated title and description values, records canonical and redirect relationships, and flags URLs above its length or query-parameter review thresholds. It does not crawl every possible variant, understand all business rules, or declare that two pages are duplicates solely because their paths look similar.
How to check it yourself
Export URLs from links, sitemaps, analytics, logs, and CMS records. Group them by normalized content and intent, then compare status, final URL, canonical, robots directives, title, description, and visible copy. Test representative tracking, filter, print, mobile, and locale variants without assuming that every parameter can be removed.
How to fix it
Decide which URLs should be indexable and which are alternate representations. Redirect retired paths to a close replacement, emit a correct canonical for consolidating variants, and link internally to the preferred URL. Remove tracking parameters from internal links where possible and keep sitemaps limited to canonical, public pages. Give genuinely different pages distinct content and metadata.
Do not canonicalise unrelated pages to the home page, block a variant before checking whether it is needed, or return 200 for a missing URL. Re-crawl the URL set after changing routing.
When this is intentional or does not need fixing
Search filters, pagination, print views, language versions, and campaign URLs can have distinct purposes. A page may remain crawlable without being a preferred indexable representative. Document the relationship and use a consistent policy rather than forcing every URL into one pattern.
Related issues
Read duplicate content, duplicate title tags, canonical URL present, canonical and redirects, and URL query review.
Run a NOTABIS audit
NOTABIS brings content, metadata, URL, canonical, and redirect evidence together so you can decide which variants should remain public and which should consolidate.