A canonical tag is a snippet of HTML code that helps search engines understand and rank content efficiently. Understanding its functionality and the benefits it brings to SEO is crucial for all SEO professionals, digital marketers, bloggers, and website owners. Here is a comprehensive explanation of what a canonical tag is and how you can use it.
What is a canonical tag?
To put it simply, a canonical tag (also known as 'rel canonical') is a way of letting search engines know that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Its primary function is to prevent problems caused by identical or "duplicate" content appearing on multiple URLs.
Applying a canonical tag is like declaring a preferred version of a page, which helps search engines understand the duplications, leading to improved site ranking. The tag is placed in the HTML head of a web page and, like a 301 redirect, transfers ranking power to the canonical URL. However, unlike a 301 redirect, the users can view the duplicate page.
The importance of canonical tags lies in their ability to resolve duplicate content issues. When search engines crawl multiple versions of a page, they divide the ‘linking juice’ between those versions, which dilutes the value. Using a canonical tag, you can consolidate this value on a chosen URL to improve your SEO ranking.
Why are canonical tags important?
Canonical tags are important for several reasons. Primarily they combat duplicate contents issues, ensuring that search engines have a clear understanding of the site’s structure. This understanding results in better crawling, indexing, and ranking of the web pages, which ultimately drives organic traffic and increases the website’s visibility on SERP (Search Engine Results Pages).
Furthermore, canonical tags offer a solution to syndicated content complications. When content is syndicated across various platforms, the canonical tag can ensure that the original source receives the SEO credit, thereby protecting your rankings. It’s like telling the search engine, “Yes, the content is the same, but here is the original source.”
Lastly, a canonical tag is crucial because it guarantees the correct version of a page is displayed to users. This improves user experience by preventing confusion and ensuring consistency across multiple accesses.
Types of canonical tags
When we talk about types of canonical tags, it’s not that there are different ‘kinds’ of tags, but rather different ways to use them. The regular usage is the ‘self-referential canonical tag’; each page on your website has a canonical tag that points to its own URL. This is a good SEO standard practice as it deals with URL variations like http/s or www/non-www.
The second type is the ‘cross-domain canonical tag’. This is used when the same content exists on two different domains. One common scenario is eCommerce websites wherein a product is listed under different categories and hence has different URLs. Here you can declare one URL as the canonical one.
The third usage type is for ‘pagination and canonical tags’. When an article or product list spans multiple pages, it’s advisable to put a canonical tag on the first page. This indicates that the subsequent pages are part of a larger whole and helps to concentrate all ranking signals on the main page.
Examples of canonical tags
Self-referential canonical tag
A classic example of a self-referential canonical tag can be seen in any blog post URL. For instance, let’s take this URL: https://www.myblog.com/my-post/. The self-referential canonical tag tells search engines that the given URL is the master version.
Cross-domain canonical tag
Suppose an article got syndicated from ‘www.siteA.com/article’ to ‘www.siteB.com/article’. Here, the canonical tag on Site B’s URL should be ”, indicating Site A as the original source.
Pagination and canonical tag
In a blog that spans three pages, the first page URL might be ‘www.myblog.com/blog/post’. Page 2 and Page 3 might have URLs like ‘www.myblog.com/blog/post?page=2’ and ‘www.myblog.com/blog/post?page=3’ respectively. Here, the canonical tag for both Page 2 and Page 3 should point to ‘www.myblog.com/blog/post’.
Handy tips about canonical tags
While canonical tags can be supremely beneficial, it’s important to implement them correctly. Here are some best practices to ensure optimal results:
Use absolute URLs
Always use absolute URLs for your canonical tags rather than relative ones. This helps prevent any confusion for the search engines and keeps your canonical reference clear.
Bundle similar content
If your website has several pages with similar content aimed at different regional audiences, bundling them under a canonical tag can significantly help SEO performance.
Consolidation
Use canonical tags to consolidate link signals for near duplicates. This way, search engines can easily understand the best version to show in the search results.
Conclusion
Canonical tags are an essential tool in the technical SEO toolbox. They play a vital role in effective indexing and prevent the problems arising from duplicate content. By strategically implementing canonical tags, you can guide search engines in distinguishing the original content and prevent dilution of link equity among multiple-page versions.
Whether used for self-referencing, handling pagination, or dealing with content syndication, canonical tags ensure a healthy website structure that inevitably improves your rankings on SERPs. Pair this with the above-mentioned best practices, such as using absolute URLs and bundling similar content to utilize canonical tags is integral to effective SEO management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of a canonical tag?
The primary purpose of a canonical tag is to prevent duplicate content issues by specifying to search engines the ‘preferred version’ of a webpage.
Where should you place the canonical tag?
The canonical tag should be placed in the HTML head of a webpage. Placement in other areas might not get recognized by search engines.
Can I use a canonical tag on every page?
Yes, it’s a good practice to use a self-referential canonical tag on every page to ensure any URL variations are correctly pointing back to the original page.