How to specify the main mirror for the RF domain. Expanding mirror settings in webmaster. Are the characteristics of non-primary mirrors taken into account on the main one?

And from semantics we smoothly move on to technical optimization. The first step in this stage is to identify and configure the main mirror of the site.

Why is it important?

There are several reasons. Firstly, site mirrors are duplicates that we need to get rid of by explaining to the search engine that only one of them needs to be indexed. The second reason is that the links placed on the site are usually mixed - someone wrote the Url with WWW, and another person indicated the address without it. As a result, the link mass is spread between these two options. The actions described in this material are designed to completely solve such problems.

How to find out the main mirror of a site?

If the site is no longer new, then first of all we need to determine which of the mirrors (with or without WWW) has been indexed. The method is quite simple - go to Yandex https://webmaster.yandex.ru/addurl.xml and, having entered the Url of our site, we get the following:

If the address you entered is the main mirror, the result of the check will look like “The site www.site.ru has already been indexed.”

Well, or the second way to determine the main mirror, which is valid both for Yandex and for - simply enter the site address into the search and see the option that will be displayed on the first line.

What if the main mirror of the site in Yandex does not match Google?

It is better to leave the option that has taken root in Yandex, adapting Google to it. According to my observations, Yandex is going through the change of the main mirror much longer and much more painfully than Google. How to “fit” will be described below.

Main site mirror: with or without WWW

There is no practical difference - choose what you like best. Purely out of old-school habits, I like the option with WWW, but I can’t help but admit that without WWW the site’s address is shorter and attention is focused immediately on its name, and not on the anachronistic prefix (World Wide Web) from the dawn of the global network, when it was mandatory.

How to specify the main mirror of the site?

In general, this process consists of three stages. First of all, we need to write the host directive at the end of our file as follows:

User-agent: *
...
Host: www.site.ru
Sitemap: http://www.site.ru/sitemap.xml

First of all, this is necessary for Yandex, since this directive means nothing for Google. Next, we move on to the second stage, which is different for each search engine and consists of setting up the webmaster account.

Setting up the main mirror in Yandex

Next - “Indexing settings” - “Main mirror”, where we select the option we prefer.

Setting up the main mirror on Google

Add the site twice Google webmaster panel- that is, addresses with and without WWW, as if these were two different sites. Then for each of them, select the desired option in the settings and save.

How to glue site mirrors?

The last step will be to write server servers in the htaccess file, which will finally put an end to the inappropriate mirror by redirecting all its pages to the desired option.

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine On

RewriteEngine off

RewriteCond %(HTTP_HOST) ^www.site.ru$
RewriteRule (.*) http://site.ru/$1

This example is valid for the case when the main mirror is without WWW. For the reverse situation, simply swap “www.site.ru” and “site.ru” in places. The “FilesMatch” section prohibits redirecting the robots.txt file of a non-main mirror - this is necessary so that the host directive, when the search engine accesses a non-main alias, points to the main one.

That's it, it seems, that's all. This small but important stage is over. Questions?

The main mirror of the site is almost a 100% version of the resource, located at a different address. The content on it can be repeated by 80% or more.

Search engines have their own indexing algorithms. A site address with and without the www prefix can be perceived as individual resources. The main mirror of the site, what is it? This is the same site, but at a different address.

Sometimes resources move to another domain, leaving all content unchanged, but the owner forgets about the redirect. If you don’t approach the matter rationally, the TIC and PR will fall apart for each version or be separated.

This happens because search engines do not understand where the main version is and where the copy of the site is. It is important to explain to the systems what the main website mirror is. Let's see how to do the job correctly and quickly.

How to determine the main mirror of a site without errors?

Enter the website address with the prefix www into the address bar of your browser. The symbols have not disappeared and you have not reached the same site at site.ru?

We check the site.ru address using the same method. After the transition, the site address did not change, the www symbols were not added? This means the mirror is not adjusted at all.

This is bad, because search engines regard the resource as autonomous resources and all parameters are shared between them. Let's look at how to set up the main website mirror below.

Setting up the main website mirror

As a priority version of the resource, choose a site without the www addition. As soon as the Internet began to develop, such addresses were considered popular, now everything is moving towards simplification.

Setting up a mirror in Google Search Console and Yandex.Webmaster

In the root directory of the site, the main and minor versions are registered as files. Htaccess is a priority file, all information that is listed here is perceived as the main one. Whatever you write in robots.txt, it will remain secondary.

In the htaccess file, you specify the condition that when you get to the www address, the user quietly goes to the site without a prefix in the address. How it looks in code, look online, it depends on the type of CMS you are working with.

But, there is one caveat: htaccess does not guarantee that the site and the mirror will be perceived by search engines in the same way. Additionally, you do the following:

  1. In the Yandex webmaster panel, find the “Indexing settings” option, select “Main mirror”.
  2. Specify one of the options:
  • Website with the prefix www;
  • Website without the www prefix in the address;
  • At the discretion of search engines.

The definition of the main mirror of a site should point to the resource address without the www prefix, as mentioned above. The main mirror of the site in the new webmaster is indicated in exactly the same way as in the standard version. The only difference between them is the design and number of functions.

It's easier with Google:

  1. You need to go to Google Search Console, select “Messages”.
  2. Find the section “Select a priority version” - indicate the desired type of mirror, which will be the main one.


Directive for Yandex

Yandex is a specific search engine. It is not enough for him to indicate in htaccess, the webmaster's panel for 100% results. Additionally, go to robots.txt, and in the root of the directory with the resource, write a directive that will send Yandex to the main version of the website (Host).

The following is written:

  • User adept (User-agent), indicate Yandex;
  • Disallow, enter /wp-admin;
  • Host is the address of your website without the www prefix.

Please note that in Disallow, all sections are indicated where search engine robots should not enter the admin panel, cgi-bin and other elements that you consider necessary.

The above is an example where the WordPress admin panel is not indexed. After the work done, the search engine correctly understands where the main mirror of the site is.

We create a mirror site with HTTPS, SLL

With the advent of HTTPS, Google increases the rankings of sites that use this protocol. It is believed that such resources are safe. It is ideal if the protocol is created immediately during website development.

If not, then after switching to a secure protocol, you need to set a redirect from the current mirror to the main one with the HTTPS prefix. How to find out the main mirror of a website online has already been discussed above.

When initially a site with http:, but without the www prefix, was the main version, and the same site with the prefix was an additional version, then after the changes, the https: version will become the main option, and those listed will serve as additional mirrors.

The reason for the site to move to a new domain with a prefix in the s address is an increased level of data security after receiving an SSL certificate. Information entering the site will be encrypted, which reduces the risk of it falling into third hands.

You can check the main mirror of the site with or without a certificate using the methods listed above.

Monitoring pages included in the index

The final check of the work done is monitoring of indexed pages. Traffic indicators and the number of pages in search engines are checked no earlier than after 14 days.

You will see adequate results in a month. Did the work done lead to the expected result? If not, then look for the error. The code must be perfect; an extra dot can make .htaccess and robots files useless.

Site mirror– exact and partial copies of the site, available under different addresses. They are usually determined by comparing the content on pages with the same addresses, for example site1.ru/index.php and site2.ru/index.php. In most cases, www.site.ru and site.ru are also mirrors, because For search engines, they are sites with the same content, but located at different addresses.

What does it affect?

If search efforts find identical sites on the Internet, they identify them as “mirrors.” As everyone knows, the main task of search engines is to provide users with the largest amount of unique information. At the same time, search algorithms are constantly developing and improving methods of dealing with duplicate content, removing non-unique documents from the index.

Therefore, all found mirrors are glued together by search robots, and only one site remains in the index, which is considered the main mirror.

If you do not make the necessary settings, then the search engine algorithms may choose as the main mirror a completely different site than the one we need for. To avoid this, it is recommended to carry out a series of work on gluing all mirrors in a timely manner, indicating the desired site as the main mirror.

Gluing mirrors also needs to be done in case of changing the domain name, this will allow you to save (TCI and PR), as well as transfer the weight of existing links.

How to find out that a site is a non-main mirror

If there is a site that is not in the search engine index and there is a suspicion that it is a minor mirror of some resource, then it is worth adding it to the indexing on the “Report a new site” page. If the corresponding message appears, then the resource is glued:



Methods for gluing mirrors

There are several ways to glue all the mirrors together and show search engines which copy of the site is the main one. Some of the presented methods are only suitable for setting up the correct processing of mirrors within one domain, others are suitable for sites located on different domains.

Host directive. The main mirror of the site can be specified using the Host directive. It is usually written after the Disallow directives:

User-Agent: *
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /index.php
Host: www.domain.ru

The Host directive is processed correctly only by the Yandex search engine, so it is recommended to use it simultaneously with other methods of setting up mirrors.

Link structure. You can help the search engine choose the right main site mirror by using a competent link structure (relevant if the site uses absolute links). It is necessary that all links from internal site links lead to pages belonging to the correct mirror.

If we choose www.site.ru as the main mirror of the site, then it is recommended to change all links like http://site.ru/page.html to http://www.site.ru/page.html

301 redirect. One of the most effective and therefore most frequently used ways to specify the main mirror is to set up a server redirect. To implement it, you need to add the following information to the .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %(HTTP_HOST) ^site.ru
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.site.ru/$1
RewriteBase /

Yandex.Webmaster. You can also specify the main mirror of the site in . To do this, you need to add a site and go to the “Main Mirror” item in the “Indexing Settings” section. There you can choose one of the options yourself (with or without www) or leave it to the robot’s discretion:




Do not forget that the data specified in the toolbar will be taken into account only by the Yandex search engine.

Google Webmaster Tools. You can also specify the main mirror of the site in the Google Webmaster Tools panel. To do this, you need to add your site to webmaster tools and go to the “Settings” item in the “Site Configuration” section:




In Webmaster Tools, you can independently select one main domain that will participate in the main Google search.

After completing one of the methods of setting up the main mirror and indexing by search robots, the main mirror will be selected and only at this address the site will become available in search engines. This process may take some time.

Posting mirrors

If sites cease to be mirrors and begin to provide the user with various content, then the automatic posting of resources occurs. The Yandex search engine claims that its algorithms post sites within 1-2 weeks.

I have often been asked whether it is better to make a domain with or without WWW. I decided to make a short post about this, and also explain how to glue mirrors with and without WWW.

First, let's look at where the triple W (World Web Wide) prefix came from.

It was 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. The guy was a genius, to be honest. And in fact, a year later he published the world's first browser of the same name. This is where the prefix with triple WWW came from, so that it was immediately clear that this was a hypertext link. If anyone wants to read the story in more detail, here is the link - Wikipedia.

Now it's 2014. More than 20 years have passed and virtually every child in the world with a smartphone/computer can understand where the link is. Those. in fact, WWW is a vestige that has been around since the 90s. Many people know how I feel about such “dinosaurs” - I eradicate them (similarly with IE 6, 7 and other old browsers, etc.).

I believe that everything should only go forward and develop. This means you can’t drag remnants of the past with you, simply because you’re used to it.

Therefore, the answer is clear: It’s better without WWW than with it! Don't keep junk nearby - it's unnecessary.

How to determine the main mirror of a site

There are situations when the site has been launched for a long time, but optimization has only recently begun. In this case, an incorrectly defined main mirror can bring disaster in the form of re-indexing of the entire site. Therefore, I will tell you how to do everything correctly:

  1. The most obvious way is to enter the URL of your site into a Yandex or Google search. The search engine itself tells you which mirror it considers the main one. Let's not contradict her - and take her advice.
  2. The second way is all kinds of services. For example - http://xseo.in/glue. Enter your website there and the service will show you its main mirror.

Now we have already decided what we will glue and with what, let’s start practicing.

Gluing website mirrors

In order to merge, you need to go to the .htaccess file in the root directory of your site. If this file does not exist, create it. Open it with Notepad ++ (it's free) and add the following code there, depending on what needs to be merged with what.

The first 2 directives are written once for the entire document. If you have already written them in the file, you do not need to write them again. Insert only the last 2 lines, replacing “site.ru” with your domain.

Main mirror without WWW

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %(HTTP_HOST) ^www.site\.ru$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://site.ru/$1 M/pre>

Main mirror from WWW

Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %(HTTP_HOST) ^site\.ru$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.site.ru/$1

After you glue the site mirrors, do not forget

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Site mirror – partial or complete duplicate of an Internet project

The term “site mirror” most often means two copies of the same resource with and without the “www” prefix. Search engines treat the addresses yoursite.ru and www.yoursite.ru as two different domains. Accordingly, link ranking and ICS/PR indicators will be distributed to both addresses. To eliminate unnecessary duplicates, site mirrors are glued together.

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A website mirror can be understood as a complete copy of an Internet resource, which has a separate domain and is hosted on another server. A webmaster who knows how to set up a mirror site can create a duplicate for security purposes. If the main Internet project is temporarily unavailable, then traffic is redirected to a functioning server.

How to specify the main site mirror

Before you start search engine promotion, you need to check the main mirror of the site. PS robots do not always correctly determine the main domain. Therefore, the webmaster must know how to independently indicate the main mirror of the site.

You can transfer information about the main domain to the Google search engine using webmaster tools. To do this, go to Search Console, add a resource and confirm rights to it. Then you need to go to the settings (gear icon) and specify the display of the main domain with or without the “www” prefix.

Do you want to know how to determine the main website mirror for the Yandex robot? For this search engine, a site mirror is configured via robots.txt. Add a directive to it

Host: www.yoursite.ru (the main domain will be displayed with a prefix)

Host: yoursite.ru (in this case, the main mirror will be a domain without www)

Important! Instead of “yoursite.ru” you should substitute the domain name of your Internet project.

The robots.txt file is a standard text document, usually located in the root folderwebsite. It can be edited using the notepad application.

If everything is done correctly, then search engines will be able to glue site mirrors together much faster, which will have a positive effect on promotion.

Checking the website mirror using online services

A webmaster who wants to know how to find a mirror site can use the recipdonor.com service from the RDS bar. In the RU domain zone, the search for site mirrors is performed using the seobudget.ru/mirrorlist/ service.

How to make a website mirror (spare take)

Why might the owner of a web project need a website mirror? The need for a copy of the site on another domain may be due to the following reasons:

  • Data protection from server failure;
  • Ensuring stable operation of the Internet project;
  • The need to bypass blocking, legal restrictions of certain countries;
  • Removing the site from search engine sanctions.

Are you interested in how to create a mirror site by linking several domain names to a web project? The support service of the hosting company on whose server the site is hosted can help with this procedure.

Creating a website mirror can be done using programs that can copy the structure and html code of an Internet project. The most popular mirroring software includes software called CVSup, wget, HT Track.