Every day, Google updates the system and makes it better for users. Whenever you search on Google for something, it shows the latest and most updated information from across the web. Now, you may have a question: How can I update the content of my web page?
The simple answer is to use canonical tags. Yes, that’s right. In this article, we will discuss all the points regarding canonical tag SEO and its importance in building E-E-A-T.
What Is Canonical Tags In SEO?
The SEO canonical tag is a part of the search engine that indicates the different versions of a single webpage. This method focuses on SEO efforts on a single URL and raises its chances of ranking higher in search results. The canonical tag is a part of an SEO sitemap that navigates to search engines on which pages are updated, which is important for indexing.
How Does The SEO Canonical Tags Work?
SEO canonical tags are simple, but they have a huge impact on ranking. By using them wisely, you can keep your website strong and ensure users find the right content. A canonical SEO tag is like a signpost for search engines. It helps to avoid confusion and ensures that search engines focus on the right page. Now, follow the steps below to learn how this canonical tag works.
Step-1
Identify The Canonical Page
When a search engine analyzes your webpage and finds duplicate content, it first looks at canonical tags for SEO to figure out which page is the main or preferred version. This is very important because sometimes websites have multiple pages with the same or very similar content. In fact, this is one of the main checklists to add to local SEO. So, without the canonical tag, search engines might get confused about prioritizing pages.
Step-2
Indicate Duplicate Contents With Minor Changes
Canonical tags help search engines identify the difference between the same-format content. For example, if you have the same types of pages, like location pages, where each content is almost the same, then the canonical tag will make the difference between them, so search engines know which one to prioritize.
This canonical tag in SEO will help to combine all the benefits, like backlinks, traffic growth, and one page. Moreover, it will ensure you rank higher in search results and avoid any confusion caused by duplicate content.
Step-3
Competes The Useful Pages
Canonical tags will help you manage pages that compete with each other in search results and keep them useful for visitors. For example, if you have similar pages with the same products but in different colors or variations, each page will exist for user convenience.
However, the canonical tag indicates search engines to let them know which version is the main one to focus on. This way, you avoid SEO issues like duplicate content while still allowing users to browse the specific pages they need. It’s a smart way to balance website breadcrumbs and SEO performance.
Why SEO Canonical Tags Are Important?
As we said earlier, a canonical tag in SEO indicates a search engine page with duplicate content. Websites often have similar pages with different URLs, like a product page that appears with filters for size or color. Still confused? Here are some canonical tags in SEO example below.
- https://www.SEOshut.com/jeans/jackets/
- https://www.SEOshut.com/jeans/jackets/?Size=XL
- https://www.SEOshut.com/jeans/jackets/?Size=XL&color=red
So, as you can see, without a canonical tag, search engines might not understand which one to prioritize. By using the tag, you will guide search engines to index with the main URL, which will improve your site’s rankings in search results. However, besides all the benefits, there is something more. Let’s check them out below.
They Increase The Page Rank
Canonical tags in SEO increase the value of duplicate pages by pointing search engines to one main page. Those duplicate pages can get links from other websites, social media, or forums, which divides the link power that should go to the main page. By using canonical SEO tags, all the links will get value and ranking power from the duplicates passed to them, making them rank better on Google.
It Helps To Identify Syndicate Content
As a part of the essential local SEO strategy, many website owners share their content on external sites for promotion or information. At that time, Google could be confused about which site should rank as the main source. In that case, canonical tags in SEO will assist search engines in identifying the original source of content when it’s republished on other websites. By using canonical tags on those external sites, you make it clear which version is the original, ensuring it gets priority in SERP.
What Are The Ways To Do Canonical SEO Tags?
Well, there are several ways to do this, and all the methods have been practiced in different ways. Let’s have a look below to know more about it.
- HTTP header: This method uses a rel canonical tag SEO method at the header in the HTTP response of a webpage. It indicates the search engines on the main or preferred URL for that page. This method is especially helpful for non-HTML content like PDFs.
- Use Sitemap: For a canonical SEO tag, you can use Sitemap, where all the files and pages are listed on your website. You can indicate search engines on which URL is the main one for each page. This will make it easier for search engines to understand your site’s structure and know which pages to prioritize.
- Hreflang Annotations: Well, Hreflang Annotations is also a canonical tag in an SEO example, but it canonicalizes content with similar content in other languages and regions. Hreflang tags tell search engines the language and region of a webpage, and in this way, users get the new version of your content that matches their language and location.
If you have ideas about page redirection, then you might be wondering why we didn’t include it on the list. Well, there are some differences in it. Now, take a look below and know about it.
301 Redirects Vs Canonical SEO Tag
As we said earlier, they both indicate the original content, but there are some differences. Those differences are in content availability, user experience, SEO impact, use case, and implementation. See the table below to understand the difference between canonical SEO tags and 301 redirects.
| 301 Redirect | Canonical Tag |
| Permanently redirects one URL to another URL. | Tells search engines which page is the “main” version. |
| Only the destination page is accessible; the original page is no longer accessible. | Keeps both versions of the page live (but prioritizes one for SEO). |
| Users are automatically redirected to the new page. | Users can still visit all versions of the page. |
| Passes almost all SEO value from the old page to the new page. | Consolidates SEO credit from duplicate pages to the main page. |
| When you want to permanently replace a page with a new one. | When you want to keep multiple similar pages live, but prioritize one for search engines. |
| Set up on the server (via. .htaccess, CMS, or hosting platform). | Added in the <head> section of the HTML code as <link rel=”canonical” href=”URL”>. |
| When moving to a new domain or changing the URL structure of a website. | For product pages with slight variations (e.g., different colors). |
When moving to a new domain or changing the URL structure of a website. For product pages with slight variations (e.g., different colors).
What Are The Best Practices Of Canonical Tag In SEO?
Whether you want to rank your website locally or internationally, canonical tags SEO impacts your website if you don’t use them according to the rules. Therefore, we have listed the best practices of canonical tags that will not harm your website. Let’s check them out below.
Use One Canonical URL Per Page
It is very important to have only one canonical URL for each page on your website. Having multiple canonical tags can confuse search engines, which will be harmful to your site. You have to make sure that each page sends a clear signal about its preferred URL to avoid conflicting instructions.
Point To The Preferred Version Of A Page
If you have multiple versions of a webpage, like pages with tracking parameters or pages showing sorted content, always use the canonical SEO tag to point to the cleanest, most relevant version. For example, if you have a product page with URLs for sorting by price or popularity, choose the main product page as the canonical URL.
Stay Consistent With HTTP or HTTPS
If your site uses HTTPS (which is now standard for most websites), ensure that the canonical tag reflects this. Avoid pointing to HTTP versions if your site operates on HTTPS, which can lead to mixed signals and potential ranking issues.
Use Canonical Tags For Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can hurt your SEO by splitting ranking signals between pages. Use canonical SEO tags to indicate to search engines which version of the content is the original or most important. For example, if you repost a blog on a partner site, the canonical tag should return to the original URL.
Place Canonical Tags In The (Head) Section
The canonical tag must be placed in the <head> section of your webpage’s HTML code. This will ensure that search engines can easily find and process them. However, placing those tags somewhere else, such as in the body, may be ignored by the search engines.
Use Self-Referential Canonical Tags
Even for unique pages, including an SEO canonical tag that points to itself will be a good practice. For instance, if your URL is something like https://SEOshut.com/aboput-us, then the canonical tag should also reference this URL. This practice will assist you in avoiding issues caused by accidental duplicates.
Avoid Redirects In Canonical URLs
The URL you specify in your canonical SEO tag should lead directly to the preferred page, not to a redirect. Otherwise, the redirect chains can confuse search engines and reduce the effectiveness of your canonical tag.
Avoid Broken Links In Canonical Tags
Make sure the URL in the canonical tag points to a live and functioning page. A broken link or 404 error will stop search engines from properly indexing your content, and users who follow the link may encounter errors.
Don’t Canonicalize Every Page To The Homepage
Some webmasters follow this tactic to canonicalize all pages to the homepage. They think it will concentrate the SEO power. This approach will be counterproductive and can harm your rankings. You should use canonical tag on one page of the homepage if it’s genuinely necessary.
Update Canonical Tags After URL Changes
If you are making changes to your URL structure, such as moving to a new domain or altering the format of your links, then ensure you update your canonical tags to reflect the new URLs. If you fail to do this, then search engines will be confused to find the right page.
Test & Monitor Canonical Tags Regularly
Finally, make it a habit to test and monitor your canonical tags. Use tools like Google Search Console or SEO crawlers to identify misconfigurations, such as missing tags, incorrect URLs, or conflicting signals. Regular audits will ensure your canonical SEO tags are working as intended.
How To Check Canonical Tags?
Canonical tags are very important in SEO, and if you make mistakes on them, it can affect your website’s ranking. You need to check the canonical SEO tags regularly to consolidate link signals, save crawl budget, improve user experience, and many more. Therefore, you can check those tags in many ways. Check them out below.
View Source Code
You can check them by opening the source code of the webpage and looking for the <link rel=”canonical” href=”URL”/> tag.
How to do it:
- Right-click on the page and select “View Page Source” or “Inspect Element.”
- Use Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) to search for “canonical.”
- Check if the canonical tag points to the correct URL.
Browser Developer Tools
You can use browser developer tools to quickly locate and verify the canonical tag.
How to do it:
- Right-click on the page and choose “Inspect.”
- Go to the “Elements” tab.
- Search for the <link rel=”canonical”> tag and confirm the URL is correct.
You Can Use SEO Browser Extensions
Use extensions like SEO Meta in 1 Click or MozBar to check canonical SEO tags without viewing the code manually.
How to do it:
- Install the extension in your browser.
- Open the page and activate the extension.
- Look for the canonical URL in the tool’s output.
Use SEO Tools
You can use tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Semrush to analyze canonical tags across multiple pages.
How to do it:
- Crawl your website using the tool.
- Check the “Canonical Link Element” column in the output.
- Look for missing, incorrect, or duplicate canonical tags.
Google Search Console
Check canonical tags as indexed by Google to ensure they’re recognized properly.
How to do it:
- Log in to Google Search Console.
- Use the “URL Inspection Tool” to analyze a specific page.
- Check the user-declared Canonical and Google-selected Canonical sections.
Manual Testing
s
You can test canonical tags by manually adding query strings or minor changes to the URL and checking if it redirects to the canonical URL.
- Add “?test” or something similar to the URL, e.g., https://SEOshut.com?test.
- If configured correctly, the page should still reference the canonical URL.
Online Validators
To confirm the implementation of an SEO canonical tag, you can use online tools like Canonical Tag Validator or SEO Tag Checkers.
How to do it:
- Enter the URL into the tool.
- Review the output to verify the canonical tag and its configuration.
Ways To Do Canonical Tags In Some Popular Platforms
Whether you have a website on Wix, Shopify, or WordPress, you can easily create canonical tags. However, their functions might be different, but you can easily do that. Now, let’s have a look below.
Wix
Wix automatically adds a canonical tag to every page. This function ensures that each page is treated as its own main version. It also allows you to customize the canonical SEO tags for each page. It will give you more control for advanced SEO needs.
Shopify
Shopify has a built-in feature for handling canonical tags, which will easily turn on in the settings to make the process simple for store owners. Shopify will allow you to set a canonical URL for each product page so search engines know which version to prioritize.
WordPress
This platform has plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack, which will assist you in managing canonical SEO tags easily. These tools will prevent duplicate content issues and improve your website’s search rankings.
How Canonical SEO Tags Bulid Website Authenticity
While talking about canonical tags, it plays an important role in boosting your website’s EEAT—Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It will clearly identify the main version of a page and will show you on search engines that your site is well-organized and focused on providing the best user experience.
It will prevent the confusion caused by duplicate content and will ensure that the right page gets proper attention in search results. A well-structured website builds trust and authority with both search engines and visitors. Not only that, it will improve your site’s credibility, helping it rank higher.
What Are The Most Common Canonical Tag Problems And Solutions?
Canonical tag issues are very common in SEO, but as we described earlier, they can be harmful to your site, so you have to be very careful. However, it is suggested that you take expert assistance to keep it perfect. Therefore, here are some common problems with instant solutions to fix canonical tag issues.
Pointing To A Non-Crawlable Or Non-Indexable URL
When working with paginated content, people often make the mistake of adding a canonical tag on every page that points to page 1. For example, they add this tag on page 2:<link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.SEOshut.com/content_page1″>
This tells Google that page 2 is the same as page 1, causing Google to skip indexing page 2 and other subsequent pages.
The Solution
Each page in the pagination should have its own unique canonical tag.
For example:
- On page 1 (https://www.SEOshut.com/content_page1):
<link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.SEOshut.com/content_page1″>
- On page 2 (https://www.SEOshut.com/content_page2):
<link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.SEOshut.com/content_page2″>
This will ensure that Google understands each page as a separate part of your content and indexes them properly. Always make sure that the canonical tag points to the URL on the same page.
Hreflang & Canonicals
If you are using canonical tags and hreflang tags, both together, then mistakes often happen. A common error of this is pointing the canonical tag of a page in one language (e.g., German) to the same page in a different language (e.g., English). This can confuse search engines because hreflang tags are supposed to handle language variations, not canonical tags.
The Solution
Make sure the canonical tag on each page matches the URL for that specific language version.
For example:
If https://www.SEOshut.com is the main English page, and there’s a Spanish version, it should be https://www.SEOshut.com/de.
Using SEO Canonical Tags In Different Pages
Sometimes, websites have pages that are similar but serve for different purposes, like multiple blog posts on the same topic or similar product pages. This mostly happens on local e-commerce sites. A common mistake that people make is that they use canonical tags to link these pages to each other. This will confuse Google, and if done too often, then Google might stop trusting your canonical tags entirely, which could lead to duplicate content issues because Google doesn’t know which page to prioritize.
The Solution
Use canonical tags only for those pages that are truly duplicates of each other—not for similar pages but for different purposes. Here’s how to handle it:
For Blog Posts
Each blog post should have its canonical tag pointing to itself.
For product pages
If two products are similar but not identical, then each product page should have a canonical tag pointing to itself. For example:
- Blog Post 1:
<link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.SEOshut.com/blog-post-1″>
- Blog Post 2:
<link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.SEOshut.com/blog-post-2″>
By doing this, you will perfectly navigate Google so that each page is unique and should be indexed on its own.
Final Verdict
The canonical tag is simple but has a lot of impact on search engines. This will allow your website to stay updated with new content to build E-E-A-T. Whether you are a business owner or blogger, you need to know all the points, as we discussed in this article. We hope this article will be helpful to you. Thanks for reading. For more updates on different SEO topics, keep your eyes on our page.
