Beginners Guide to Canonicalisation and URL SEO

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In the multifaceted industry of digital marketing, there’s a vital concept called Canonicalisation – often overlooked but crucial for a well-optimised website. In this beginner-friendly guide, we’ll demystify the canonical tag, explore the nuances of duplicate content, and equip you with the knowledge to navigate canonical URLs with finesse.

What is a Canonical Tag?

A canonical tag or “rel canonical” is your website’s compass, guiding search engines to the primary version of a page, preventing confusion caused by duplicate content across multiple URLs. 

A canonical link element is an HTML tag designed to mitigate duplicate content concerns within search engine optimisation. This element plays a pivotal role by indicating the “canonical” or preferred version of a web page, helping search engines prioritise and display the most relevant and authoritative content to users.

Canonical Tag Code Sample

Fortunately, canonical codes are pretty simple. Here is an example of the canonical syllable pattern:

<link rel=”canonical” href=”your-master-URL” />

This tag ensures search engines prioritise the preferred URL in their results.

Why Canonicalisation Matters

Duplicate content is the arch-nemesis here. Without canonicalisation, search engines can consider your content duplicated, and just as importantly, you’ll have no control over which URL a search engine chooses to show in relevant search results. 

Once you add a canonical tag to a URL, you are, in effect, telling search engines that this is the original version of the content and the one that should appear in search results. Consider it like URL SEO. After all, search engine optimisation requires a multifaceted approach, and covering all your bases is best!

The Challenge of URLs

Before we delve deeper, let’s address a common misconception: “Why would anyone duplicate a page?” The answer lies in how search engines perceive URLs. While we see HTTP and HTTPS versions as similar, search engines view them as distinct entities. This is where canonicalisation becomes crucial, coordinating these variations.

Modern websites, with dynamic content management systems, exacerbate the issue. They generate multiple URLs for the same content, leading to a potential maze of duplicates without you even realising it.

Canonical Tag Best Practices

Navigating the labyrinth of duplicate content requires finesse. Here are some best practices when dealing with canonical URLs:

  1. Self-Referential Canonical Tags: It’s perfectly acceptable for a canonical tag to point to the current URL. Keep it straightforward.
  2. Proactively Canonicalise Your Homepage: Given the prevalence of homepage duplicates, place canonical scriptures on your homepage template to preclude unforeseen issues.
  3. Spot-Check Dynamic Canonical Tags: Be vigilant. Check your URLs, especially on e-commerce and CMS-driven sites, to ensure the correct canonical tag is in place.
  4. Avoid Mixed Signals: Consistency is key. Confusing search engines with conflicting signals can lead to undesirable outcomes.
  5. Be Cautious with Near-Duplicates: While canonical tags can be used for similar pages, exercise caution. Too much dissimilarity may render the canonical form ineffective.
  6. Canonicalise Cross-Domain Duplicates: If you control multiple sites, use canonical tags across domains. This concentrates your ranking power on a single site.

Quick Guide to Setting the Canonical URL

Setting the canonical URL involves a few key steps, but can be done within a few hours. Follow these simple steps to create canonical pages:

  • Add the rel=”canonical” link element to all duplicate pages. Clearly communicate the primary version – also called the principal or canonical page.
  • Account for mobile versions – ensure accessibility across all devices by including the rel=”alternate” link.
  • Add hreflang (an HTML attribute) and other redirects. For multi-regional or multi-lingual pages, additional attributes may be necessary.
  • Use the Absolute URL as the href attribute – opt for global accessibility by choosing the absolute URL.

Auditing Your Canonical Tags

Embarking on an SEO journey requires periodic check-ups, as the digital space is always changing. Here’s a quick checklist:

  • Does the page have a canonical tag?
  • Does the canonical point to the right page?
  • Are the pages crawlable and indexable?.

Canonical Tags vs. 301 Redirects

A common question often arises: do canonical tags pass link equity like 301 redirects? The simple answer is yes, they do. However, while both have their merits, they aren’t the same thing. A 301 redirect directs users to a new page, whereas a canonical tag allows users to explore both versions, but directs the link equity to the canonical page.

Ready to Canonicalise?

Canonicalisation isn’t a complex protocol; in fact, it’s one of the simplest elements of technical SEO. So we’ll leave this one to you, but remember that a holistic approach to SEO is best, and there is plenty more to be done. 

Sweet Digital, Birmingham’s top digital marketing agency, is here to help! Whatever your site needs, from content marketing to PPC and PR, our talented digital strategists are ready to deliver sweet results. Contact us today to find out more.