IP Canonicalization

Why It Matters

• Duplicate content confusion. If your site is accessible at both http://123.45.67.89 and https://yourdomain.com, search engines see two different URLs serving the same content. This splits ranking signals between the two addresses.
• It is a missed redirect. Most site owners set up redirects for www vs non-www and HTTP vs HTTPS, but forget about the IP address version. It is the same kind of problem — two addresses pointing to the same content.
• Security and professionalism. Visitors who end up on your raw IP address instead of your domain may see SSL certificate warnings, since certificates are issued to domain names, not IP addresses. This looks unprofessional and raises security flags.
• Crawl budget waste. If crawlers discover your site at both the IP address and the domain, they may spend time crawling both versions — wasting crawl budget on duplicate pages instead of discovering new content.

How to Fix It

1. Set up a 301 redirect from the IP to the domain. Configure your web server to redirect any request to the raw IP address to your canonical domain with a 301 (permanent) redirect. This tells search engines the domain is the correct address.
2. Configure it at the server level. In Apache, use a RewriteRule in your .htaccess or virtual host configuration. In Nginx, add a server block that catches IP requests and redirects them. This applies before your application even runs.
3. Test by visiting the IP directly. Open a browser and type your server's IP address. You should be automatically redirected to your domain. If you see your site content at the IP address, the redirect is not working.
4. Handle both HTTP and HTTPS on the IP. Make sure requests to both http://your-ip and https://your-ip redirect properly. Some configurations only handle one protocol, leaving the other exposed.
5. Check shared hosting configurations. On shared hosting, your IP address may also serve other sites. Make sure your hosting setup does not show a default page or another site's content when accessed via the IP.

Common Mistakes

• Not setting up the redirect at all. Many site owners simply do not think about IP access. They set up www and HTTPS redirects but leave the IP address wide open, serving a duplicate copy of the site.
• Using a 302 instead of a 301. A 302 (temporary) redirect tells search engines the IP version might come back. Use a 301 to clearly communicate that the domain is the permanent, canonical address.
• Forgetting about it after server migrations. When you move to a new server or hosting provider, IP canonicalization settings from the old server do not carry over. Always reconfigure this after any infrastructure change.
• Assuming the hosting provider handles it. Some hosting platforms handle IP canonicalization automatically, but many do not. Verify by actually visiting your IP address in a browser to see what happens.