Canonical Tag Checker
Check for the presence and validity of canonical tags in your site's HTML. Google recommends having this tag present on every page.
Analyzing canonical tag implementation...
Why Canonical Tags Are Important
- Duplicate Content: Prevents search engines from seeing duplicate content issues
- Link Equity: Consolidates ranking signals to the preferred URL version
- Crawl Budget: Helps search engines focus on the right pages
- SERP Control: Ensures the correct URL appears in search results
- Parameter Handling: Manages URLs with tracking parameters or filters
Canonical Tag Best Practices
✅ Correct Canonical Tag Implementation:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page/" />
✅ Self-Referencing Canonical (Recommended):
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/current-page/" />
❌ Common Mistakes:
<!-- Missing protocol -->
<link rel="canonical" href="//example.com/page/" />
<!-- Relative URL (not recommended) -->
<link rel="canonical" href="/page/" />
<!-- Multiple canonical tags -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page1/" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page2/" />
Key Guidelines:
- Use absolute URLs with protocol (https://)
- Include only one canonical tag per page
- Self-reference when no duplicate exists
- Ensure canonical URL is accessible (200 status)
- Use consistent URL format (trailing slash, www/non-www)
- Place in the <head> section of HTML