Canonical tag checker

Check your pages for the canonical tag problems an Evisio SEO audit report flags: pages with no canonical tag, and pages with more than one. Enter your site and Evisio checks up to 10 pages for free, along with more than 80 other checks.

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What is a canonical tag?

A canonical tag is a line in a page’s <head> that tells search engines which URL is the main version of the page:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/services/">

The same page can often be reached at several addresses: with and without www, over http and https, with tracking parameters, sorted or filtered. Without a canonical tag, search engines pick one themselves and may split ranking credit between the copies.

What Evisio checks

Missing canonical tag

Every page should name its main URL, usually itself. Evisio flags each page with no canonical tag.

Multiple canonical tags

Two canonical tags contradict each other, so search engines may ignore both. This usually happens when a theme and an SEO plugin, or two SEO plugins, each add one.

HTTP homepage with no HTTPS redirect or canonical

If the http:// version of your homepage neither redirects to https:// nor has a canonical tag pointing there, search engines may index the insecure copy.

How to check a canonical tag by hand

  1. Open the page and view its source: Ctrl+U on Windows, Option+Cmd+U on a Mac.
  2. Search for rel="canonical". There should be exactly one, inside the <head>.
  3. Its href should be the full https:// address of the page itself, or of the main version if this page is a copy.
  4. Open that address. It should load directly, not redirect or show an error.

How to fix canonical tag issues

  • Missing: on WordPress, an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO adds a self-referencing canonical to every page. On other platforms, add the tag to your page template.
  • Multiple: find what adds each tag (the theme, a plugin, custom code) and keep only one.
  • Insecure homepage: redirect every http:// address to https:// with a 301, and make canonical tags use https://.

More detail: how to fix multiple canonical URLs, canonical tag issues on AMP pages and what to do if the HTTP homepage has neither a canonical nor a redirect.

Questions

Should every page have a canonical tag?

Yes. A page that points to itself costs nothing and protects it from copies created by parameters or alternate addresses.

Is a canonical tag the same as a redirect?

No. A 301 redirect sends visitors and search engines to another URL. A canonical tag leaves the page reachable and only suggests which version to rank. Search engines treat it as a strong hint, not a command.

Can a canonical tag point to another website?

Yes, when you republish an article that first appeared elsewhere. Point the copy’s canonical at the original so the original keeps the ranking credit.

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