Canonical tags play a crucial role in on-page SEO that helps prevent duplicate content issues and consolidate link equity, ultimately leading to improved search engine rankings and website performance. There are some breakdowns of their function are as follows:-
Duplicate Content Conundrum:- Let's imagine having multiple pages on your website with very similar or identical content. Search engines might find it difficult to determine which page is the "first or main page" one, potentially hurting your rankings for both. This is where canonical tags come in.
Canonical Tag Function:- A canonical tag, also known as rel=canonical, is a piece of HTML code that is placed in the head section of a webpage or website. It tells search engines that the specified URL is the preferred or "canonical" version of the content, even if other similar pages exist.
Benefits of Using Canonical Tags:
Prevent Duplicate Content Penalties:- By explicitly designating the main version, helps search engines avoid confusing duplicate content and potential ranking penalties on your website.
Consolidate Link Equity:- Links pointing to other similar web pages contribute to their "link juice" which directly affects the ranking power. With a canonical tag, that link equity gets consolidated onto the preferred page, boosting its ranking potential.
Ensure Consistent Indexing:- When you are sharing content across different platforms or subdomains, canonical tags guide search engines to the authoritative version, preventing confusion and ensuring proper indexing.
Examples of When to Use Canonical Tags:
Product pages with different colors or sizes:- Always use a canonical tag on each variant pointing to the main product page.
Paginated content:- If content spans contain multiple pages, use a canonical tag on each subsequent page pointing to the first page.
Mobile and desktop versions:- If you have separate URLs for mobile and desktop versions, use a canonical tag on the mobile version pointing to the desktop version or vice versa.
Important Points about Canonical Tags:-
Always use only one canonical tag per page. Having multiple conflicting tags can confuse search engines about it.
You have to ensure the canonical URL points to a crawlable and indexable page.
You have to regularly audit your website for broken or incorrect canonical tags to maintain optimal performance.
By effectively implementing canonical tags within your on-page SEO strategy, you can prevent duplicate content issues, strengthen your ranking potential, and ensure users find the most relevant and authoritative version of your content.