Canonical Tag: What is it and why it matters

Last Updated April 22, 2024

Today, we are going to talk about a term that is crucial for your blog’s SEO – the Canonical Tag.

What is a Canonical Tag?

A canonical tag, also known as rel=canonical, is a piece of HTML code that helps search engines identify the main version of a page when there are multiple pages with identical or very similar content.

In simpler terms, it’s a way to tell search engines, “Hey, this is the main version of this page that I want you to index and show in the search results.”

For example, the canonical tag for your main blog page might look like this:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourblog.com/main-page/" />

Why Are Canonical Tags Important?

Avoid Duplicate Content: Search engines, like Google, don’t like duplicate content. It confuses them, and they might end up indexing and ranking the wrong version of your page. Canonical tags help you specify which version of the page you want to be considered as the main one.
Consolidate Link Equity: If there are multiple versions of a page, the backlinks to those pages will be divided among them. By using a canonical tag, you consolidate the link equity to the main page, which can help improve its ranking.
Improve Crawling Efficiency: Search engines have a crawl budget, which is the number of pages they will crawl on your site in a given time. By using canonical tags, you can help search engines to not waste their crawl budget on duplicate pages.

Best Practices for Using Canonical Tags

Use Absolute URLs: Always use the absolute URL in the canonical tag, not the relative URL. For example, use https://yourblog.com/main-page/ instead of /main-page/.
Self-Canonicalize: Even if a page doesn’t have any duplicates, it’s still a good practice to include a self-referencing canonical tag. This helps to avoid any confusion for search engines.
Be Consistent: Make sure that the URL used in the canonical tag is consistent across the site. For example, if your site uses https, make sure that the canonical tag also uses https.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Canonical Chains: A canonical chain occurs when Page A references Page B as the canonical, and Page B references Page C as the canonical. Always point the canonical tag directly to the main version of the page.
Multiple Canonical Tags: There should only be one canonical tag on a page. If there are multiple canonical tags, search engines might ignore them.
Non-Similar Content: Don’t use the canonical tag on pages with completely different content. It should only be used on pages with identical or very similar content.

Conclusion

Canonical tags are an essential tool for bloggers to manage duplicate content, consolidate link equity, and improve crawling efficiency. By using them correctly, you can help search engines understand your content better and improve your blog’s SEO.

Where do I put a canonical tag on my website?

Put the canonical tag in the <head> section of the page HTML. It looks like this: <code><link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/main-page/" /></code>.

If you use WordPress, most SEO plugins add it for you. The key is that every version of a duplicated page should point to the one main URL you want Google to index.

After you set it, spot-check the page source to make sure there is only one canonical tag and that it uses the exact URL you want (correct https, slash, and domain).

Should every page have a self-referencing canonical tag?

Yes, it is usually a good idea to self-canonicalize. That means the canonical tag points back to the same page URL.

This helps search engines stay consistent if your content can be reached through more than one URL, like tracking links, category pages, or small URL changes.

Self-canonical tags also make it clearer which version you want indexed if your site ever creates accidental duplicates. It is a simple habit that prevents SEO confusion later.

Canonical tag vs noindex: which one should I use?

Use a canonical tag when you want Google to index one main version and treat other similar pages as duplicates. Use noindex when you do not want a page to show up in search results at all.

For example, if you have two very similar blog pages and you want only one to rank, use canonical. If you have a thin page like an internal thank-you page, noindex may be better.

If you are unsure, start by learning the basics of noindex so you do not hide pages by mistake. See RightBlogger’s guide to the noindex tag and when to use it.

What are the most common canonical tag mistakes to avoid?

The biggest mistakes are canonical chains, multiple canonical tags, and pointing to a page with different content. These problems can cause Google to ignore your canonicals or pick the wrong page to rank.

Avoid chains by pointing every duplicate page straight to the one main URL. Also make sure there is only one canonical tag per page.

Finally, be consistent with your URLs. If your site uses https, your canonical should use https too, and it should match your preferred version with or without a trailing slash.

How can RightBlogger help me improve SEO when I use canonical tags?

RightBlogger helps by making your on-page SEO clearer and easier to maintain, so your preferred pages have the best chance to rank. Canonical tags handle duplicates, while on-page improvements help the main page perform better.

You can use RightBlogger SEO Reports to spot issues that hurt rankings, like missing or weak titles and descriptions on your key pages. That way, the page you set as canonical is also the page that is best optimized.

If you are creating new content, the RightBlogger AI Article Writer can help you draft pages that are less likely to create near-duplicates in the first place. Cleaner content structure makes canonical choices simpler later.