Canonical URL Generator
Generate canonical link tags to prevent duplicate content issues
Important: The canonical tag is a hint to search engines, not a directive. For best results, also implement 301 redirects from duplicate URLs to the canonical version.
- Use absolute URLs, not relative paths
- Include a canonical tag on every page, even if self-referencing
- Ensure the canonical page returns a 200 status code
- Don't canonical to a page that redirects
- Use consistent URL format (www vs non-www, HTTP vs HTTPS)
- Don't canonical paginated pages to page 1
Privacy First
All URL processing happens locally in your browser. No URLs or data are sent to any server. Your website URLs remain completely private.
About Canonical URLs
The canonical tag (rel="canonical") tells search engines which version of a URL is the "master" copy that should be indexed. This is essential for preventing duplicate content issues when the same content is accessible via multiple URLs.
When to Use Canonical Tags
- Same content accessible via HTTP and HTTPS
- www and non-www versions of your site
- URLs with different query parameters (sorting, tracking, etc.)
- URLs with and without trailing slashes
- Syndicated content on multiple sites
- Mobile and desktop versions of the same page
Implementation Methods
There are two ways to specify a canonical URL:
1. HTML Link Element (Recommended)
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page" />2. HTTP Header
Link: <https://example.com/page>; rel="canonical"Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using relative URLs instead of absolute URLs
- Pointing canonical to a 404 or redirect
- Having multiple canonical tags on one page
- Canonicalizing to a URL that's blocked by robots.txt
- Using canonical for pagination (use rel="prev/next" instead)
- Cross-domain canonical without proper setup
Self-Referencing Canonical Tags
It's recommended to include a self-referencing canonical tag on every page, even when there's no duplicate. This protects against URL parameter variations and ensures search engines know which URL to index.
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