Canonical Tag Checker

Verify the `rel="canonical"` link tag on any webpage to ensure search engines correctly identify the preferred version of your content.

What is a Canonical Tag (`rel="canonical"`)?

A canonical tag (``) is an HTML element that tells search engines which specific URL represents the master copy of a page. It's used primarily to prevent problems caused by duplicate or near-duplicate content appearing on multiple URLs.

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-page/" />

When search engines like Google find multiple pages with very similar content (e.g., pages accessible via `http` vs `https`, with or without `www`, or pages with tracking parameters like `?source=xyz`), they might get confused about which version to index and rank. The canonical tag solves this by allowing you to specify your preferred version.

Why is Checking the Canonical Tag Important for SEO?

  • Consolidate Link Equity: It helps consolidate the ranking signals (like backlinks) for similar pages into your preferred URL, potentially boosting its ranking power.
  • Manage Duplicate Content: It explicitly tells search engines which page to index when duplicate versions exist, preventing potential penalties or indexation issues.
  • Specify Preferred Domain/Protocol: Ensures search engines index the correct version (e.g., `https://www.example.com` instead of `http://example.com`).
  • Improve Crawl Efficiency: By indicating the main version, you help search engines focus their crawl budget on your important pages rather than wasting it on duplicates.

How to Use This Canonical Tag Checker

  1. Enter the full URL of the webpage you want to check into the input field above.
  2. Click the "Check Canonical" button.
  3. The tool will fetch the page's HTML source code.
  4. It will then search for a <link rel="canonical" ...> tag within the <head> section.
  5. The result will show you the URL specified in the canonical tag's href attribute, or indicate if the tag was not found or was empty.

Use this information to verify that your canonical tags are set up correctly across your website, especially for pages with parameters, pagination, or different versions accessible via multiple URLs.