What are Canonical URLs? | Tips for Better SEO

Canonical URLs and How to Use Them

Canonical URLs are an important concept in search engine optimization (SEO). They are used to indicate to search engines which version of a web page is the "preferred" version. This is essential when multiple URLs show the same (or very similar) content, because search engines like Google don't always know which version to index or display in search results.

What is a canonical URL?

A canonical URL refers to the URL that the website owner considers to be the "original" version of a page. This is indicated by using the
<link rel="canonical" href="URL">-
attribute in the HTML code of a web page.

For example:
Suppose you have an online store and the same product page is accessible via multiple URLs, such as:
  1. https://www.example.nl/product?kleur=groen
  2. https://www.example.nl/product

You can use a canonical tag to tell search engines that the second URL is the preferred version:
<link rel="canonical" href=" https://www.xample.nl/product">

Why are canonical URLs important?

  1. Avoiding duplicate content: Search engines often consider pages with similar content as duplicates, which can lead to lower rankings. Canonical URLs solve this by making it clear which version should be indexed.
  2. Crawl budget optimization: Search engines have a limit on how many pages they crawl. Canonical tags help search engines work more efficiently by ignoring unnecessary duplicates.
  3. Maintaining Link Value: When external links point to different variations of a page, the canonical tag helps concentrate link value on the preferred version.

How do you use canonical URLs?

  1. In the HTML code: Add a <link rel="canonical" href="preferred-URL"> tag in the <head> section of your page.
  2. In a CMS: Most content management systems (like WordPress or Shopify) have plugins or built-in functions to set canonical URLs.
  3. Use absolute URLs: Make sure the full URL is used in the canonical tag (including "https://" and "www." if you use them), to avoid confusion.
  4. Correct application for pagination: For a series of pages, such as a multi-page blog, it is better not to use a canonical tag that points everything to the first page. Instead, use <rel="prev"> and <rel="next">.

Common mistakes

Setting the wrong URL as canonical: This can lead to loss of traffic and ranking.
Inconsistent URLs: Make sure your canonical tag points to the correct version (e.g. https:// and not http://).

Canonical URLs are therefore a simple yet effective way to improve your SEO and help search engines understand and show the right content. By implementing them correctly, you can avoid duplicate issues and optimize the visibility of your website.