Canonical tags or rel=canonical tags are an important part of search engine optimization (SEO), but they can be rather confusing for beginners. In this guide, we’ll simplify everything about canonical tags including what they are, how they work, and why they are so important.
What are Canonical Tags?
In simple terms, canonical tags are used to avoid duplicate content issues on a website. When you have the same content on different URLs, you run into a problem where search engines may treat it as duplicate content, which can negatively affect your website’s SEO. Canonical tags are used by webmasters to indicate which page is the original version of the duplicated content, allowing search engines to recognize which version to index and rank in search results.
How do Canonical Tags Work?
When you have two or more pages with duplicate content, you add a canonical tag to the duplicate pages telling the search engine that the original version of the content is on a different URL. This rel=canonical tag can be added to the header section of a page and points to the original version of the content that you want search engines to index.
For example, let’s say you have an article titled “10 reasons why dogs make great pets” and you have published the same article on two different URLs (www.yoursite.com/dogs and www.yoursite.com/pets). To avoid duplicate content issues, you would add a canonical tag to the duplicate article on the “www.yoursite.com/pets” URL and point it to the original article on “www.yoursite.com/dogs”.
Why are Canonical Tags so Important?
Canonical tags are essential to avoid duplicate content issues and prevent any negative effects that may occur on search engine rankings. Duplicate content can be seen as plagiarism which affects your website’s SEO, making it difficult for search engines to know which version of the content to display in search results. With the correct use of canonical tags, you not only avoid these issues but also ensure that your website’s authority is not diluted, and the contents are precisely ranked.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Canonical tags should be an essential part of any SEO strategy. As a beginner, it may be a bit confusing, but it is crucial if you want your website to rank well on search engines. Make sure to follow best practices to avoid any potential issues.
We want to thank the thought leader as the source for this content and such awesome teachings on the subject and we hope that this article can help you and your business! Here’s the link to his post https://www.semrush.com/blog/canonical-url-guidehttps://www.semrush.com/blog/canonical-url-guide
