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.

How is a canonical tag different from a noindex tag?

A canonical tag tells search engines which version of similar pages you prefer to rank, while a noindex tag tells them not to index a page at all. With a canonical tag, the page can still be crawled, and some of its value can pass to the main page.

A noindex tag is more strict. It is useful when you never want a page in search results, like thin tag pages or private content. You can learn more about when to use it in this guide on the noindex tag and SEO.

Use a canonical tag for pages with very similar or duplicate content, such as URL variations or tracking parameters. Use noindex when the page is low value or not useful to searchers.

Choosing the right tag helps keep your site clean in search and protects your crawl budget.

When should I use a canonical tag instead of redirecting a page?

Use a canonical tag when both pages need to stay live for users, but you only want one main version for search engines. For example, you might have the same product or post listed under two categories, and both URLs still serve visitors.

Redirects are better when an old page is no longer needed at all. In that case, a 301 redirect sends both users and search engines straight to the new URL.

Canonical tags are softer and work well when content is similar or duplicated but still useful in more than one place. Redirects are stronger and should be used when the old URL has no real purpose anymore.

Using the right option helps keep your analytics clean and makes your SEO structure easier to manage over time.

How can I check if my canonical tags are set up correctly?

First, view your page source in your browser and search for rel="canonical". Make sure the URL in the tag matches the main version of the page and uses the correct protocol, like https://.

Next, use browser extensions or SEO tools to preview how search engines see your page. These tools can quickly scan many URLs and flag missing or conflicting canonical tags.

You can also log into Google Search Console and inspect a URL to see which page Google treats as the canonical version. If Google picks a different canonical than you set, it may mean your signals are mixed.

RightBlogger users can use regular SEO reports to spot technical SEO issues, including duplicate content and URL problems. Fixing these issues early keeps your site structure strong as you publish more content.

How can RightBlogger help me avoid duplicate content so I use fewer canonicals?

RightBlogger helps you plan and write unique posts from the start, which lowers the risk of duplicate content across your site. With the AI Article Writer, you can create focused articles around specific keywords so each post covers a clear topic.

When you publish often, it is easy to repeat ideas or target the same keyword by accident. RightBlogger’s tools and workflows help you outline posts in advance so you can see how each one fits into your overall content plan.

You can pair this with a smart internal linking strategy to connect related posts instead of copying content between them. This keeps each URL unique while still helping readers find the information they need.

By keeping your content structure organized, you will rely on canonical tags mainly for edge cases, like URL variations or tracking parameters, not for fixing messy content overlaps.