It\u2019s time to improve your site\u2019s performance. Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are Canonical Tags?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A canonical tag is an HTML element that helps search engines identify the preferred or primary URL for indexing to avoid duplicate content issues.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n All pages have canonical tags, which ideally should point to the same URL, called self-referencing canonical tags. If it\u2019s not the case, you are likely to have a canonical error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canonicalization is the process of choosing the main URL for a page content. A canonical URL is the version of a page that Google considers the most important when there are several versions of the same content.<\/em> Canonical tags play an important role in SEO, as they help search engines understand which version of your page should be prioritized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, they tell Google what your page content is about. This helps Google accurately index your page, ensuring the right content is shown in the SERPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canonical tags are also important when you have duplicate pages. They help Google know which page is the most important one to index, preventing penalties due to duplicate content<\/a> issues and saving your rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canonical tags and redirects serve similar purposes but they work in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A canonical tag<\/strong> is a snippet of code that you add to a page’s HTML. It tells search engines which version of a page you want to be considered the “main” one. Even if you have duplicate pages, the one with the canonical tag gets all the SEO credit. If you want to change it, you\u2019ll need to update it from the code directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canonical tags are great when you don\u2019t want to delete a page, as doing so can lead to broken links or errors that harm your SEO. Instead, we recommend adding a canonical tag to the right page. This way, you don\u2019t have to fix broken links or add redirects, saving time and effort. However, knowing how to fix broken links<\/a> can still be useful for other situations where redirects or canonical tags aren\u2019t applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Redirects<\/strong>, on the other hand, are status codes telling the browser what to do when someone visits a specific page. If you want to send users from page A to page B, you\u2019d use a 301 redirect<\/a>. This means when someone visits page A, they\u2019re automatically directed to page B, and page A no longer exists on your site anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In short, both canonical tags and redirects help keep your site organized. A proper canonical tag lets you keep a page live without negatively impacting your SEO, while redirects send visitors to a different page. For further clarification of these terms, consult an SEO glossary to get in-depth explanations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We recommend several methods for checking a page’s canonical tag, either manually or with a canonical tag checker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1: Right-click any page and choose \u201cView page source\u201d or \u201cInspect\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2: Press Ctrl + F and type “Canonical” in the search box.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n As you can see, SayNine\u2019s homepage canonical tag is the same as its URL, which means it\u2019s set up properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also quickly check a site’s canonical tag using the SEO Pro Extension, a free SEO tool that also serves as a handy canonical tag checker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how you can do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1: Install the extension <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2: Go to any page you want to check<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3: Activate the extension<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The extension shows that the canonical tag matches the URL, confirming there are no canonical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Screaming Frog is a comprehensive website audit tool, that allows you to easily check canonical tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow these easy steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 1: Open the app and type your domain to start crawling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2: After the crawl is complete, find the \u201cOverview\u201d tab and scroll down to find Canonicals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n For example, when checking Saynine.ai, we found 52 URLs with self-referencing canonical tags. This means there are no issues with duplicate content or manually changed canonical URLs aka canonicalized URLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this section, we\u2019ll walk you through three examples where we found a canonical error on our clients\u2019 sites and suggested relevant solutions for improved SEO performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s dig into the details!<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a site audit for one of our clients, we discovered that some of the client\u2019s targeted pages had a non-canonical URL issue. In other words, their important pages were canonicalized to the wrong URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, instead of pointing to the right page, the canonical tag incorrectly referenced URLs containing \u201cdewp\u201d text. (See the screenshot below)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The canonical is correct when it matches the URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As there was no duplicate content issue, we recommended adding a self-referencing canonical tag to each affected URL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This way, search engines know which page should be prioritized, avoiding confusion and indexing problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/saynine.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/canonical_tags_example.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is Canonicalization?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In fact, a canonical page is a primary source for Google<\/a> to evaluate the content’s quality. So, don\u2019t overlook them!<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy are Canonical Tags Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Canonical Tags vs. Redirects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Check Your Canonical Tags?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Manual Way<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SEO Pro Extension<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"SEO](\"https:\/\/saynine.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/seo_pro_canonicals-1024x522.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nScreaming Frog<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screaming](\"https:\/\/saynine.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/screamingfrog_canonicals-1024x397.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSolving Canonical Issues: 3 Real Client Case Studies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Case Study #1: Non-Canonical URL Problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/saynine.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/noncanonical_url-1024x231.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOur solution<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Case Study #2: Duplicate Content Resulting in Canonicalization Errors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Siteliner](\"https:\/\/saynine.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/siteliner_canonicals_check-1024x450.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n