Glossary
What is a canonical tag?
A canonical tag is a line in the HTML of a page that tells search engines which URL is the main version when several URLs show the same or very similar content.
Why it matters
The same page can often be reached at several addresses: with tracking parameters, with filters, or with and without a trailing slash. Without a canonical tag, search engines choose a version themselves and split the signals between copies.
How we handle it
Every indexable page should carry a canonical tag that points to itself, and every duplicate should point to the main version. We check that the tags agree with redirects, the sitemap and internal links, because mixed signals make search engines ignore the tag.
Related service: Technical SEO services
Related terms
Keep reading
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Noindex
Noindex is an instruction that tells search engines not to show a page in their results.
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Crawl budget
Crawl budget is the amount of crawling a search engine is willing to spend on a website in a given period.
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Keyword cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization happens when several pages on one site target the same search, so they compete with each other and none of them ranks as well as one page could.
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