Why it matters
The same page can often be reached in several ways: with tracking parameters, with or without a trailing slash, or through filters. Without a canonical tag, search engines guess which one to show, and links and signals get split between the copies.
What it looks like
<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourbusiness.com/services/" />It goes in the page’s <head>. Most pages should point to themselves. Copies should point to the main version.
Common mistakes
- Pointing every page to the home page. Search engines may then ignore your other pages.
- A canonical that redirects or returns an error. The tag must point at a live page that returns a normal page.
- Canonical and noindex on the same page. They send mixed signals; pick one.
- Different canonicals in the HTML and the HTTP header. Search engines may ignore both.
How TouchTargets checks itThe site audit looks for conflicting canonical declarations on the pages it crawls, and lists them with the fix.Check my site free