How to fix Submitted URL not selected as Canonical problem in GSC?

[Smbom]

After using GSC on my website, there is a "Submitted URL not selected as Canonical " problem on many pages, but I checked these pages, it showed that they could be indexed. Actually, they are not. And I don't know how to fix them, what should I do?

[AndreRet]

It seems that in your Google Search Console (GSC), Google is not accepting the submitted URL as the preferred version of your pages. This can lead to indexing and ranking problems for your site. How to Fix ‘Duplicate, Submitted URL Not Selected as Canonical’

The following might help you find the ignored pages and correct them -
Check your canonical tags - each page should have a self-referencing canonical tag pointing to itself.

Check for alternate versions: If you have different versions of the same content (e.g., HTTP and HTTPS, www and non-www), make sure that you have implemented the canonical tags to indicate the preferred version.

Check for incorrect or missing canonical tags - Use tools like HTML validators or browser extensions to check for errors in your canonical tags.

Check if your pages is crawlable and indexed - You can manually check if these pages appear in the search results by searching for "smbom dot com/page-url" in Google. If they are not indexed, review your website's robots.txt file, noindex tags, or any other factors preventing indexing.

Confirm your XML sitemap - Make sure that your XML sitemap includes all the relevant pages that you want Google to index.

Check your URL parameters - If your website uses URL parameters, ensure that they are properly handled to avoid creating duplicate content.

In GSC, use the "Fetch as Google" or "URL Inspection" tool to simulate how Googlebot sees your pages. This can point to incorrect pages.

This might be a tedious process but will bear fruit in the long run regarding your ranking in Google.

[ambikadivinity]

After using GSC on my website, there is a "Submitted URL not selected as Canonical " problem on many pages, but I checked these pages, it showed that they could be indexed. Actually, they are not. And I don't know how to fix them, what should I do?

[becketharper585]

The "Submitted URL not selected as Canonical " problem occurs when URLs are submitted without a canonical URL which indicates to Google that the page is duplicate. So, Google chooses other URLs as canonical.
To fix the "submitted URL not selected as Canonical" issue, follow the steps:

1. Verify and fix canonical tags.
2. Resolve duplicate content problems.
3. Check and correct redirects.
4. Ensure the XML sitemap has the correct canonical URLs.
5. Use "Fetch as Google" in GSC to check rendering.
6. Verify mobile-friendliness with "Fetch and Render" for mobile.
7. Update internal links to point to canonical URLs.
8. Monitor for improvements after making changes.