Thanks Jovo. I went through the AIO SEO settings and didn't see anything there that may have caused this. It looks like it's within the WordPress settings as you can see from the screenshots I shared with Robert.
As far as I remember the canonical URL box has always been checked. From what I have read this stops google from assuming that the same URL with the / and the one without are not duplicate content. But I could be wrong.

I'm frustrated because the URLs without the / have so many social shares and it's like I am starting over again with the /

Thanks Trish,

See what I wrote to Robert below.

I don't care if there is a slash or not but I don't like the idea of my site having both (which it currently does). And I did not do this, I think it started with a wordpress update (I have been paying close attention to other peoples website posts and they all seem to have them now).

Perhaps your database needs cleaning as this is not an issue that others are reporting on: Cleaning Your WP Database - Does it Really Need to be Done?

Thanks, but I don't think this has anything to do with my database. I just realized that I didn't attach the screenshot to Robert's message so I will do that now.

Thanks Robert but that is the article I posted above that I have already read. I don't know how to remove the slash and if I do figure it out will it mess up my site?

You can sometimes get a 301 and especially if you use the slash on some URLs and not others.
I have never had that problem simply because I remove the slash from all my URLs

It is automatically redirecting. I haven't changed anything anywhere on my site. Like I said, about 6 months ago I noticed my share counts reset to 0. I thought the issue was with Sumo, but they said it wasn't.

I am not adding or removing the slash (I am not techie enough to figure out how to do that).

And now I have been noticing the Wordpress is adding the / to new and existing posts and pages.

I don't care if the slash is there or not, but I don't like that it looks like I have duplicate content on my site.

When I look at the wordpress settings it is showing a / in the permalink structure (this is what makes me think this all started with some wordpress update). I have attached a screenshot of this.

Ideally I would like to go back to not having the slash (where I have higher share counts). But I am afraid that could end up causing more issues.

When I do a Fetch As Google and I omit the / at the end of the post name it does a redirect to the one with the /.

What structure do you have in your Permalinks?

I have a custom one like this

/%postname%

Hi Robert,

I just noticed I didn't attach the screenshot. I have added it now to the message above. That will show you how mine is currently set up.

the pic shows mine.

Try it and see if it makes any difference.
Its getting late here in Scotland so I'm going to sign off now.

Thanks Robert! I was going to do that but wasn't sure if it would mess things up further.

I also noticed that when I click on Custom Structure and make sure %postname% is selected it automatically adds the / to the end. But it looks like I should be able to manually delete the /.

I have attached a screenshot

Do you think it is ok to do this now that I have a whole bunch of URL's all over social media with the /?

I will wait until you respond, hopefully tomorrow sometime. I'm about 6 hours behind you in Canada.

It seems everyone has disappeared and I am still not sure what I should do. Do you suggest I make the change in the WP settings to remove the /?

If I do this, do you know if it will mess things up for the existing URL's out there that have the /?

Sorry Tanya I thought I had replied.
I would leave the posts with the slash and then its entirely up to you if you remove them in future posts.

I usually take them out but on occasion I forget and it doesn't seem to do any harm.
Robert

Thanks for your response. I assumed if I went in and removed the / in the wordpress settings it would remove them from all URLs. Does this mean it would only remove it from future URL's?

What do you mean by you usually take them out but forget on occasion? Is this something you are doing manually?

Sorry, I am a bit confused.

Before you publish you should delete it.
Sometimes I just publish right after I have edited my post.
BUT
You can remove the slash altogether from your Permalinks.

I'm sure I showed you mine already but see attached pic.

After you do take a look at a posts URL and the slash should not be there any more.

Yes, that is what I was talking about. If I change it within the wordpress settings as per your picture will that change the URL for existing articles or only new ones?

It should change them all.

Thanks Robert. But will this cause issues with google and all of the links on social media that now have the /?

Hello again Tanya

In theory a URL with a trailing slash implies a directory and a URL without a trailing slash is a file, but this isn’t really important anymore.

As a matter of fact Google gave their answer to trailing slashes years ago.

Here it is -

Google treats each URL separately (and equally) regardless of whether it’s a file or a directory, or it contains a trailing slash or it doesn’t contain a trailing slash.

Here’s a summary of Google’s advice:

Implement 301 (permanent) redirects from one version to the other through your .htaccess file.

If you can’t use permanent redirects, use canonical elements instead – either will reduce the risk of duplicate content

Be consistent with your choice.

Google also suggests you can just leave the duplicate versions and Google will figure it out. That’s technically true in the sense that only one version will rank – but it also won’t rank as well as it should (and causes lots of other problems) so it’s always worth removing the duplicate.

If you’re launching a brand new site it’s best practice not to include file extensions on your URLs.

In either scenario: you should choose a preferred URL and stick with it – but it’s preferable to use a trailing slash at the end of your URLs because page load times will improve slightly.

Hope this helps.

My advice is the same as before - leave the old URLs with a slash and decide if you want to use a slash for future posts.

Robet

Thanks Robert. I think I will just leave things as they are then.

Hope all these messages have left you with a clear idea about using or not using slashes for your site.
Robert

Unfortunately I am still very confused by all of this. Which is why I won't change anything.

So you're thinking - best be safe now than sorry later.

That's ok Tanya, you do what's best for you and your site.

If you ask the question again on Live Chat you would probably get several different answers.

Have a nice day today.
Robert

Maybe I will try the live chat idea when I have a bit more time. Thanks again for trying to help me with this Robert!

No probs and at least we thrashed around a bit and you got questions asked.

I'm off for the night now.
Robert

Thanks so much Jude. I do have Google XML sitemaps and the AIO Sitemap active. Should I deactivate the Google XML sitemap plugin?

I have put in a request to remove the URL through google search console.

When I click on the sitemap through AIO SEO it doesn't list any post/page URL's. It just has a few and I don't know what any of it means. I have attached a screenshot

You would have to un-compress the sitemap gz file. to see the items listed in it. Probably not worth the effort in this situation, especially as you have already asked G to remove that URL.

I see the sitemap screenshot you provided is the AIO sitemap.

Before AIO added the sitemap feature, I used Google XML.

After AIO added the sitemap feature a few years ago, I stopped using Google XML. Don't see the point in having two plugins when the AIO does the same job.

You can use Google XML, if you prefer, but then it would be better to turn off the sitemap feature in the All in One SEO and continue to use AIO for its other seo functions.

~Jude

Thanks jude. I don't have a preference for either. I will deactivate the Google XML Plugin

I did do that before asking but I didn't see anything about removing a URL I didn't create. But I can check again. I don't have much time to spend on this so I figured if there was an easy fix and someone knows it, it would take a lot less time than searching through trainings (many of which are very outdated).

In checking your page that you said you inadvertently added a link that caused the 404 error... I could not find that link anywhere on the post where you recommend Amazon's product (beautiful site, by the way!).

Please check your list of posts to see if that URL is sitting in your posts. If it is, simply delete it and that should cure this issue.

It's not, that is what is so confusing. I don't know how to possibly delete it because I can't find it anywhere in WordPress.

Okay... I have something for you to try. See screen print below...

Once you have done this, refresh your site and try the 404 link. If this works, that link will not longer open your site as it did.

Did this work Tanya?

Thanks Trish! I just tried it but when I go to the URL it still goes to a page that says "nothing found".

I did click on "validate" after doing what you suggested and now it's saying "validation started". So maybe it will take a while.

Tanya, I noticed another boo-boo that once fixed may help you with this issue... and that is to please, check and fix your broken links.

In checking your site, I STOPPED the checking after well over 50 broken or boo-boo links were found. Fixing these could help you resolve the issue with 404, though you might have to click on that Save Changes button under permalinks again, once all broken links have been fixed.

Here's a tutorial to help you find and fix those links: How to Check and Fix Broken Links

Thanks for the heads up. The link checker found 49 broken links. I am trying to get through them (some aren't actually broken). However, I don't think this has anything to do with the mystery URL I can't find or delete.

Thanks Jovo, I will look into that!

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I did not back up the site before upgrading. I have been using the classic editor and still am.

Then your only option is to change your theme Tanya. :-(

I haven't had that happen Helen. I did downgrade a few days ago but that did not resolve the issue.

Im sorry to hear that.... its so frustrating !

Thanks Lynne. I tried downgrading a few days ago but that didn't work. I am not sure why.

I removed the sidebar affiliate disclosure as Glen suggested and that got rid of the grey line that was causing all links above it to be unclickable.

Hope you are doing well!

All good here thanks, I hope you are too!

Thanks Mary-Elle. However, the boxes that are at the bottom beneath the posts on the home screen (and my articles) are supposed to be on the right hand side, in the sidebar.

Oh! I see what you mean. Well, unfortunately I cannot help with that unless I can see inside your WP account so can't help with a general answer on that. My advise is to get your theme switched out asap to one with support.

I know I need to get the theme switched. If it was as easy as installing a new theme and it being seemless I would have done that. But right now I don't have the time to deal with all the work that comes along with moving to a new theme. My site is 3 and a half years old and has almost 200 posts and pages.

Thanks, but I don't have the time to deal with all the reformatting that is involved right now.

If it was as simple as changing the theme and that's it I would have made the change right away.

Thanks Glen.

That helped with the issue I was having with the grey line and not being able to click on anything above it.

But the boxes that were in the sidebar are still displaying at the bottom beneath the last post.

knock the ) of Zed and the site comes up

percentage sign and 29

I can figure out that much ... it was a connection error ... I'm on the site now

Thanks. I have done that but unfortunately all the fixes are a bit techie for me.

I asked in some other groups and some people are saying it is bad for SEO but no real clear reason why that is the case.