SEO · Check canonical
Canonical URL <link>
A `<link rel="canonical">` tag inside your <head> that tells Google which URL is the AUTHORITATIVE version of this page. Important when the same content is reachable at multiple URLs (with/without www, with/without trailing slash, with/without UTM tracking).
Why it matters
The case for canonical url
Without a canonical, Google may dedupe to the wrong URL form — splitting your SEO authority three ways across `http://yoursite.com`, `https://www.yoursite.com`, and `https://yoursite.com/?utm_source=...`. With a canonical, Google merges signals from all three to the one you specified.
How this audit checks it
What we actually look at
We parse the homepage HTML <head> for `<link rel="canonical">`. PASS if present; WARN if missing.
Copy-pasteable fix
Snippet to drop in
<link rel="canonical" href="https://yoursite.com/">Steps
How to apply it
- Add to homepage HTML <head> section
- Pick your preferred URL form (with or without www, with or without trailing slash) and stick with it
- Use the same canonical form across every page (don't mix www and non-www across pages)
- Self-referencing canonical (page A's canonical = page A's URL) is the correct default for most pages
Common mistakes
What goes wrong
- Pointing canonical to a different domain (you become the alternate; the OTHER site gets the ranking weight)
- Mixing http/https in canonicals (always use https)
- Forgetting trailing slash consistency (Google treats /page and /page/ as different URLs)
Other checks in the baseline
Continue your audit walk-through.
Next step
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