When you’re just getting started with SEO, it can be difficult to figure out all of its aspects. On one hand, you must make sure to create good content that provides value to everyone who reads it. On the other hand, you must pay attention to the backlinks you obtain and establish a good outreach campaign to enter as many partnerships as necessary for SEO purposes. Websites must make sure that they come up with something new and also avoid duplicate pages, as duplicate content can confuse a search engine, making it unaware of which one should be prioritized. The good news is that you can deal with the duplicate content issue with something known as “canonical tags.”
Canonical tags may be a bit confusing to you if you’re just getting started with them, though, but once you understand how they work, implementing them will completely change your success on Google and help you rank higher. This post will explain how canonical tags are and how to use them to your advantage.
What Are Canonical Tags?
Canonical tags represent a type of HTML code where the main version of similar web pages or duplicate ones is specified. Perhaps you have very similar content under different URLs, and this can be too confusing for Google. With a canonical tag, you tell the search engine which page should be prioritized in the search results. Some websites have good reasons to keep duplicate pages, but these can be harmful for your SEO strategy, as Google may end up showing the wrong pages when someone searches for a relevant keyword.
The tag looks like rel=”canonical”, and it appears in the HTML code’s head section. Canonical tags can either self-reference the master version of the page or be used on a duplicate page to show the master version.
Now, you may think that just because you do not create duplicate pages on purpose by posting the same pages and content, you do not need canonical tags. That’s not the case, though. However, Google targets URLs when crawling, not the particular web page. This is why, when a clothing shop has clothes for sale, for instance, the URLs will be only slightly different when you add certain filters, like a different size or color, even though you’re looking at the same page. As such, Google will see these as different sites, all thanks to the different tags.
Why Do You Need a Canonical Tag?
The way Google works still gives headaches to many website owners, especially new ones who are not familiar with its system and algorithm. When it comes to indexing pages and ranking them, one thing’s for sure: Google only indexes one page. So, even if you have two URLs that look the same but lead to slightly different parts of the site, Google will only index one of the options. Duplicate content however makes it much harder for the system to choose a page for indexing, not to mention figure out which page version deserves to be ranked.
Google said that they do not use canonical tags as a deciding factor when ranking pages, but that doesn’t mean you should leave your SEO strategy as it is and let Google choose which page to index. This is why it’s best to use a tag and tell Google which page you want the traffic to go to.
The only thing that you should know, though, is that in certain situations, Google may ignore a canonical tag. It happens when the search engine finds a different page more suitable for a higher rank. Things that influence which page will be selected for a high ranking involve the value of the page, as well as its usefulness and relevance.
How to Effectively Use Canonical Tags
Even though they can be useful, canonical tags should be used effectively to provide any results. Using them incorrectly will probably have no effect on your rankings, which is why you should make sure you take the right steps when implementing them. Here are some tips on how to use canonical tags properly:
Use Lowercase Letters
Using lowercase letters in your URLs is necessary, as they are case-sensitive. If URLs have both uppercase and lowercase letters, then a search engine might still see the content as duplicate. This is why you should focus on lowercase letters onlu.
Don’t Forget to Add Canonical Tags in Sitemaps
One place where you should add canonical tags is sitemaps. This is especially important if you add a page there. Your sitemap should be filled with pages you consider to be important and thus canonical. Alternate pages shouldn’t be included. Once you have your sitemap, you can submit it using the Google Search Console.
Always Use Absolute URLs
For correct indexing, you should always stick to absolute URLs. When using the canonical tag, relative paths do not always work. So, instead of <link rel=“canonical” href=”/sample-page/” />, you should use something like <link rel=“canonical” href=“https://siteexample.com/sample-page/” />.
Don’t Set Multiple Canonical Tags
More than one canonical tag is completely unnecessary. You should always just stick to one because having several ones will completely undermine the purpose of the tags in the first place. In some instances, you may accidentally add more canonicals, which is why you should read the HTML of the page several times to remove any potential errors.
Final Thoughts
Canonical tags help prioritize the right pages when you want to be indexed by Google and make it into the rankings with the correct page. When dealing with duplicate pages, canonicals let search engines know which page they should focus on for SEO ranking purposes. If you want to make the strategy work, you should only use one canonical per page and use absolute URLs as well. Also, you should add canonical tags in sitemaps as well and only use lowercase letters. By doing the right thing, you can rest assured all of your pages will be indexed correctly.