Canonical tags explained: when and how to use them
A canonical tag tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page when the same content can be reached at several addresses.
Why it matters
The same page is often available at many URLs: with and without www, with tracking parameters, with a trailing slash, or sorted differently. Without a canonical, search engines guess which one to rank, and your links and signals get split between versions.
A canonical that points to a different page tells Google not to index this one. That is right for true duplicates but a serious problem when it is a mistake, for example a template that points every page at the homepage.
How to fix it
- Add one
<link rel="canonical">tag to the<head>of every indexable page. - Point it at the page’s own preferred URL (a “self-referencing” canonical), using the full absolute URL with
https://. - For genuine duplicates, point the canonical at the original page.
- Make sure there is only one canonical tag. Check that your CMS and SEO plugin aren’t both adding one.
- Never canonicalise to a URL that redirects, returns an error or is set to noindex.
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/wallets/">