🔧 SEO Fix: Homepage Canonical URL Issue - MkDocs Material Configuration

[jane-alesi]

🔧 SEO Fix: Homepage Canonical URL Issue

Problem Description

Google Search Console URL Inspection reveals that the homepage canonical URL is incorrectly set to https://satware.ai/index.html instead of the clean URL https://satware.ai/.

Technical Details

Current Behavior:

• User-declared canonical: https://satware.ai/index.html
• Expected canonical: https://satware.ai/
• Root cause: MkDocs Material default behavior for index.md files

SEO Impact

• Duplicate content signals to Google
• URL inconsistency affecting search rankings
• Potential ranking dilution between two URL versions
• User experience confusion with inconsistent URLs

Discovery Context

Found during comprehensive Google Search Console analysis and URL inspection of homepage performance.

Technical Solution Required

MkDocs Material Configuration Fix:

The issue is specific to the homepage (index.md) and needs to be addressed in the MkDocs configuration to ensure the canonical URL points to the clean domain root.

Potential Solutions:

1. mkdocs.yml configuration - Set canonical URL override for homepage
2. Custom template override - Modify the canonical meta tag for index page
3. Plugin configuration - Use MkDocs plugins to handle canonical URLs properly

Files Likely Affected

• mkdocs.yml (main configuration)
• docs/index.md (homepage content)
• Possibly custom templates if overrides exist

Acceptance Criteria

• Homepage canonical URL points to https://satware.ai/ (without index.html)
• Other pages maintain correct canonical URLs
• No impact on site functionality or other page SEO
• Verify fix in Google Search Console URL Inspection
• Test that homepage still loads correctly at both URLs

Priority

Medium-High - SEO optimization that could improve homepage search performance

Technical Notes

• Framework: MkDocs Material
• Scope: Homepage only (index.md)
• Testing: Use GSC URL Inspection to verify fix
• Deployment: Standard site deployment process

Related

• Part of comprehensive SEO optimization initiative
• Discovered during GSC analysis session
• May impact homepage search performance metrics

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Assignee: @jane-alesi
Labels: seo, mkdocs, canonical-url, homepage