Case Study: Google Chose a Different Canonical Than User – How I Fixed a Critical Indexing Issue

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Recently, I came across a critical indexing issue on the website hopmyjob.com, which is worth sharing because it can help other website owners and SEO professionals facing similar problems.

In Google Search Console (GSC), the homepage was reported with the status:

Page is not indexed: Duplicate, Google chose a different canonical than user

At first glance, this looks like a common canonical conflict. However, a deeper investigation revealed a serious security-related SEO issue.

Canonical Issue Identified in Google Search Console

  1. User-declared canonical: https://hopmyjob.com/
  2. Google-selected canonical: https://9738492609.xgijnaqgavwkrbmhgqfeibhugadiz.org/significantly-reduce-their-motivation

Screenshot reference: Canonical details from GSC



and


When Google chooses a different canonical URL than the one we declare, it means:

  • Google does not trust the declared canonical

  • Google believes another URL represents the content better

In this case, Google selected a suspicious, randomly generated external domain instead of the official website. This is not a normal canonical issue.

Why This Was a Red Flag 🚨

The Google-selected canonical domain had clear warning signs:

  • Randomly generated domain name

  • Irrelevant URL structure

  • Content not owned or controlled by the site owner

This strongly indicated one or more of the following:

  • Content injection

  • Malicious scraping

  • Cloaking (Googlebot vs user content difference)

  • Security vulnerability on the website

From an SEO perspective, this is dangerous because:

  • Google may drop your original pages from the index

  • Rankings and brand trust can be severely impacted

  • Spam domains may hijack your content authority

SEO Actions Taken (Immediate Response)

Spam URL Report Submission

Instead of using the URL Removal tool in Google Search Console, I submitted the spam URL using Google’s “Report spammy, deceptive, or low quality webpage” form.

Spam URL reported: https://9738492609.xgijnaqgavwkrbmhgqfeibhugadiz.org/significantly-reduce-their-motivation

Spam report form used: https://search.google.com/search-console/report-spam

Screenshot reference: Spam URL submitted via Google spam report form


This action helps Google:

  • Identify malicious or deceptive content

  • Take algorithmic or manual action against spam domains

  • Reduce the risk of spam URLs being treated as canonical

⚠️ Note: Submitting a spam report does not instantly remove URLs, but it is a critical signal for Google’s webspam and indexing systems.

Indexing Status – Before & After Fix

Using the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console, I verified the impact.

Before Fix

  • Homepage not indexed correctly

  • Google-selected canonical was the spam domain

Screenshot reference: Index status before fix



After Fix

Screenshot reference: Index status after fix


This confirmed that Google had started trusting the original domain again.

Meta Snippet Impact in Google SERP

The issue also affected how the site appeared in search results.

Before Fix

  • Incorrect or spam-influenced meta snippet

  • Brand trust visibly impacted

Screenshot reference: SERP snippet before fix


After Fix

  • Clean and correct meta title & description

  • Brand visibility restored

Screenshot reference: SERP snippet after fix



Technical Checks Requested from the Development Team

Since hopmyjob.com is built on a PHP platform, I recommended the following technical actions to the development team:

  1. Scan for malicious PHP or JavaScript injections

    • Check core files, themes, and plugins

    • Compare files against known clean backups

  2. Verify no cloaking is implemented

    • Ensure Googlebot and users see the same content

    • Test with different user agents

  3. Validate canonical & meta tag integrity

    • Ensure canonical tags are not dynamically altered

    • Confirm meta tags are consistent across requests

  4. Review server logs

    • Identify suspicious crawl patterns or injected referrers

Final Thoughts

If you see the error “Duplicate, Google chose a different canonical than user” and the selected canonical is an unknown or spam domain, do not ignore it.

Treat it as:

  • An SEO issue

  • A technical issue

  • A potential security incident

Early detection and quick action can prevent serious ranking and reputation damage.

I hope this real-world case study helps others who face a similar issue. If you are dealing with unusual canonical behavior, start investigating beyond SEO signals and look into security and code integrity as well.

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