Canonical tag - A canonical tag is an HTML element that helps search engines to understand the preferred version of a web page. The primary purpose of a canonical tag is to eliminate duplicate content issues from multiple URL versions of the same page. By doing this, it ensures that search engines index only one URL and pass all link equity to that specific URL.
Canonical tags are crucial for SEO as they provide clarity about which pages should be ranked by Google. Without canonical tags, identical or nearly identical pages can compete with one another in ranking, resulting in poor user experience and loss of traffic.
By using a single URL as a reference point, you can avoid any confusion caused by similar or identical content on your website. This makes it easier for crawlers to understand your site's structure and ensure that users get accurate results when searching for specific topics.
The Benefits of Using Canonical Tags:
Using Canonical tags comes with several benefits:
1) Search engines will have an understanding of which version of your website's URLs are the original and what should be indexed.
2) You prevent visitors from linking or bookmarking "incorrect" pages.
3) Helps eliminate errors associated with duplicate content
4) Allows you to optimize each individual page without worrying about keyword cannibalization
In summary, implementing canonical tags is essential for improving your website’s rank and user experience by ensuring that search engines crawl only intended pages.
The Correct Way To Use Canonical Tags:
It’s essential to use canonical tags correctly; otherwise, these efforts could backfire! Here are some correct ways:
1) Identify the main source: Identify whether there are different versions (HTTP vs. HTTPS), parameterized URLs (with question marks), session IDs in URLs before creating a <link rel="canonical"> element. Use the main source as your canonical URL.
2) Place on every page: Make sure to include it in the head section of each page and specify a different canonical tag for each page.
3) Consistent URL format: Make sure that your canonical URLs have consistent formats throughout your site.
In conclusion, Canonical tags are an essential part of on-page SEO optimization. By using them correctly, you can ensure that search engines give priority to the right URL when ranking pages, thereby increasing traffic to your website.