Fix library · SEO
Canonical tags: naming the real address of a page
The same page can often be reached at several addresses: with and without www, with and without a trailing slash, with a tracking parameter on the end. To you these are one page. To a search engine they are candidates for the same content, and the ranking signals get divided between them. A canonical tag settles it by naming the address you want to count.
No canonical tag is declared
What SEOPert detected
One or more pages do not declare a canonical URL.
What this means
A canonical tag tells Google which address is the “real” one when the same page can be reached in several ways, so ranking signals aren’t split. A page without one is not broken; it matters when other versions of the page exist.
How to fix it
- Check whether these pages can be reached at more than one address (with and without www, with a trailing slash, or with ?tracking or filter parameters).
- If they can, add a canonical tag naming the preferred address, and make internal links and redirects use that same address.
- If each page has only one address, this is optional.
On WordPress
- Yoast SEO and Rank Math add canonical tags automatically once installed and active.
On Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow
- Your platform normally adds canonical tags itself. If this still appears, check that a theme or app hasn’t removed them, or contact the platform’s support.
If you are handing this to a developer
Add <link rel="canonical" href="{absolute URL}"> to each listed page.
Check it worked. View the source and search for rel="canonical": it should name the page’s preferred https:// address.
The canonical tags contradict each other
What SEOPert detected
A page declares more than one canonical URL, or names one that is insecure, missing or hidden from search.
What this means
These pages send Google contradictory or broken signals about which address is the real one. Google may then ignore your canonical or index the wrong page.
How to fix it
- Open each listed page and look at the evidence in this report: several different canonical tags, an http:// canonical, or a canonical pointing to a missing or hidden page.
- Keep exactly one canonical tag per page, using the working https:// address of the page you want in search results.
- Update internal links and redirects so they point to that same address.
On WordPress
- Two canonical tags usually mean two SEO plugins (or a plugin plus the theme) are both adding one. Keep one SEO plugin active.
- In Yoast or Rank Math, open the page’s Advanced SEO settings and clear any custom canonical URL that points to the wrong page.
On Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow
- Check the page’s SEO settings for a custom canonical URL and clear it or correct it.
- If an app or custom code adds a second canonical tag, remove it or ask the app’s support.
If you are handing this to a developer
Emit exactly one <link rel="canonical"> per page, absolute https:// URL, pointing to a 200, indexable URL. Align internal links, sitemap URLs and redirects with it.
Check it worked. View the source of each page and search for rel="canonical": there should be exactly one, pointing to a working https:// page. Re-run your audit to confirm.
Related
Check your own site
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