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How a change goes live: draft, review, publish, checkWhat the agent changes by itself, and what waits for youWhat the SEO audit screen showsHow to find and filter your pagesWhat the page audit showsWhat site-wide issues mean and how to clear themHow to add internal links and untangle pages that competeHow page types are scored and how to change the standardsHow to change many pages at once with Bulk optimizeBroken links, redirects and page speedWhat the Market position screen showsHow to see what changed in your marketHow to choose your next movesHow to find sites that should link to youHow to check if Google's AI answers name youHow to choose what to write nextWhat the Meta Ads screen showsHow to save a filtered list as a viewProving it worked
How PageSoar measures whether a change workedHow to read the Did it work? screenWhat the Weekly briefing showsWhere your visits come from: the Channels screenHow to compare pages and build a dashboardWhich kinds of fix move clicks most: the Impact rankingHow to run a held-back experiment and log what you expectHow to track your search rankingsWhat the Needs attention screen is telling youHow to generate a report deckHow to be told when a number movesHow to log what you expect a change to doConnecting your site
Which sites PageSoar can publish toConnect Google Search Console and AnalyticsWhen a connection does not workHow to connect your website and GoogleHow to check your site's connection healthHow to request a custom connectorConnect WordPress to PageSoarConnect Ghost to PageSoarConnect a git repositoryConnect a Python appConnect Shopify to PageSoarConnect Webflow to PageSoarConnect Wix to PageSoarAsking your data
Asking your data in plain wordsHow to check a draft before it goes liveHow to check a rival's websiteSEO basics
What a title tag is and how to write a good oneWriting meta descriptions that earn clicksHeading structure: H1 to H3 explainedHow to write helpful image alt textWhat a canonical tag is and when to use itRedirects: 301 versus 302 and how to avoid chainsWhat an XML sitemap does and how to check yoursRobots.txt: what it blocks and common mistakesWhat structured data is and which types matter for a small businessHow to fix duplicate contentMobile-friendliness: what to checkHTTPS and why browsers warnWhat keyword research is and how to startSearch intent: the four kinds and how to match a page to oneLong-tail keywords for small businessesHow to write a page that answers a searchInternal linking basicsWhat backlinks are and how to earn them honestlyAnchor text explainedWhat E-E-A-T means in practiceContent refreshes: when and how to update an old pageKeyword cannibalization: how to spot and fix itLocal SEO basics and a Google Business Profile checklistHow to read a search results page (SERP features)Core Web Vitals explained: LCP, CLS and interaction speedHow to speed up a slow page: images, caching and scriptsWhat Google Search Console shows: queries, pages, clicks, impressions and positionWhat Google Analytics measures: users, sessions and eventsSetting up a conversion or key eventClick-through rate: what is normal and how to raise itBounce rate versus engagement rateUTM tags: tracking campaigns correctlyHow to run a simple before-and-after SEO test, and why correlation misleadsSeasonality: why traffic moves without any change from youWhat a Google algorithm update is and how to respondA monthly SEO reporting checklist for a small teamYour team and your data
Roles and approvalsIs my site safe with PageSoar?Billing, plans and cancellingHow to approve or send back a proposed changeAssigned and Decided: where your work and past decisions livePick the goal that counts as a winTeach PageSoar your brand voiceList what your product has todayCheck what PageSoar knows about your site and rivalsIgnore pages, or keep them out of GooglePublish your award badges so Google can show themCustom modules: parts built for your accountPeople, roles, company name and appearanceTarget site and the write testHow notifications and the weekly summary workHow to get back something you removedGlossary
SEO glossary A to ZWhat a canonical tag is and when to use it
A canonical tag tells search engines which address is the main copy when the same page can be reached at several.
What it is#
A canonical tag is a line in the hidden head of a page that names the preferred address for that content. It is a link tag in the page head with rel set to canonical and the preferred address as its target. It is a hint to search engines, not a command. They usually follow it when it makes sense.
Why it matters#
One page can often be reached at several addresses: with and without www, with a tracking code on the end, with a trailing slash, or inside a filtered list. A search engine may treat each as a separate page with the same text. Links and attention are then split across copies, and the wrong copy may appear in results. A canonical tag gathers them onto the one you choose. See also duplicate content.
How to check#
- View the page source and search for canonical.
- Read the address it names. It should be the full, working address of this page, including https://.
- Try the variants of your address (with www, without, with a ?utm_source= tail). Each should name the same canonical address.
How to fix#
- Give every indexable page a self-referencing canonical: the tag points to the page's own clean address. Many themes and SEO plugins do this when a setting is on.
- Point variants to the main version. Tracking-code copies, print versions and sorted lists should name the plain address.
- Pick one site address (https, www or not) and use it in every canonical, link and sitemap entry. Also redirect the other forms to it; see 301 versus 302 redirects.
- Syndicated content: if another site republishes your article, ask it to add a canonical pointing to yours.
Common mistakes#
- Pointing the canonical at a different page because of a copy-paste. The page named can replace yours in results.
- Using a relative or http address when the site runs on https.
- Pointing to an address that redirects or returns an error.
- Canonicalizing every page to the home page. This tells search engines your inner pages are copies.
- Using canonical to hide a page. It does not block anything. Use a noindex instruction for that; see noindex.
- Mixing signals, such as a canonical to page A while the sitemap lists page B.
Cleaning up copies is a bigger job than one tag; see how to fix duplicate content.