Add Canonical Tag in WordPress: Your Quick Guide
If you manage a WordPress website, you understand the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A key part of SEO is managing duplicate content, which can confuse search engines and hurt your site’s rankings. This is where the canonical tag becomes essential.
A canonical tag, or rel=”canonical” tag, tells search engines which version of a web page you prefer. This helps prevent duplicate content issues and ensures the correct page is indexed. In this guide, I’ll show you how to add a canonical tag in WordPress, explain why it’s important, and share some best practices.
Canonical URLs are especially useful when you have multiple versions of the same content on your site. For example, if the same article or product page has different URLs, search engines might see them as separate pages, leading to duplicate content issues. By setting a canonical URL, you let search engines know which version is the main one, directing all the link equity and ranking signals to that page. To manage such content effectively, it’s wise to turn to a free duplicate content checker to identify and resolve any potentially harmful issues.
SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO Pack make adding canonical tags in WordPress simple and efficient. These plugins offer user-friendly interfaces to set your canonical URLs, helping you optimize your site for better search engine rankings without dealing with complex HTML code.
In the sections below, I’ll explain how to check your website for existing canonical tags, how to add them, common mistakes to avoid, and how to make programmatic adjustments if needed. By the end of this guide, you’ll be ready to manage canonical tags on your WordPress site and improve your SEO strategy.
To make sure your website is using canonical tags correctly, you need to verify their implementation. Luckily, several tools and plugins can help you with this, including a keyword clustering tool which can be highly effective in organizing your site’s content strategy, making your SEO efforts more efficient and focused.
One easy way to check for canonical tags is by using online tools made for this purpose. For example, SEO Review Tools’ Canonical URL / Location Checker lets you enter a URL to see if a canonical tag exists and which page it points to. This tool also checks for HTTP canonical headers, covering both HTML and HTTP header implementations.
The Canonical Tag Test by SEO Site Checkup is another useful tool. It analyzes your webpage to check for the canonical link tag and provides tips on fixing any issues. It also shows the pass rates of top websites, giving you a benchmark for your site.
If you prefer using plugins in WordPress, Yoast SEO and All In One SEO (AIOSEO) offer strong features to manage and check canonical tags. With Yoast SEO, you can view and edit the canonical URL in the advanced tab of the Yoast SEO metabox. Similarly, AIOSEO lets you set and check canonical URLs in its advanced settings.
You can also manually check for canonical tags by viewing your website’s page source. Load the page in your browser, right-click, and select “View Page Source.” Look for the `` tag in the “ section of the HTML code.
This method is useful for ensuring the tags are correctly placed and pointing to the right canonical URL.
Google Search Console is another great tool for checking canonical tags. Using the URL Inspection Tool, you can see both the user-declared canonical and the Google-selected canonical, helping you understand how Google views your canonical tags. Learn more in our Google SEO Guide.
Adding a Canonical Tag in WordPress
One of the easiest ways to add canonical tags in WordPress is by using the Yoast SEO plugin. Yoast SEO automatically adds the correct canonical URLs for most page types, including posts, pages, and custom post types.
If you need to change the canonical URL to something different from the default, you can do so easily within the Yoast SEO interface.
To change the canonical URL in Yoast SEO, log in to your WordPress website and navigate to the post, page, category, or tag where you want to adjust the canonical URL. In the WordPress editor, go to the Yoast SEO metabox or sidebar and click on the “Advanced” tab. Here, you will find the “Canonical URL” field where you can enter the full canonical URL.
Make sure to include the complete address, including the protocol (http or https) and any subdomains (www or non-www).
If you prefer not to use an SEO plugin or need more control over your canonical tags, you can add them manually. This involves adding a `` tag to the “ section of your page’s HTML code.
You can do this by editing your theme’s header file or using a plugin like “Headers and Footers” that allows you to add custom code to your site’s header and footer sections.
For example, if you want to set `https://example.com/wordpress/seo-plugin/` as the canonical URL for a page, you would add the following code to the “ section of that page:
This method requires some technical knowledge and caution to avoid breaking your site’s design or functionality.
Canonical tags are also important for paginated content, such as blog archives or product archives. Yoast SEO automatically handles these cases by adding the necessary canonical tags for paginated pages. For example, it adds `rel=”prev”` and `rel=”next”` tags to help search engines understand the relationship between different pages in a paginated series.
If you use Yoast SEO, you usually don’t need to do anything extra for paginated content, as the plugin manages this automatically. However, if you manage canonical tags manually, you need to ensure that each page in the paginated series points to the first page as the canonical URL and includes the appropriate `rel=”prev”` and `rel=”next”` tags to guide search engines through the series.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A major mistake to avoid when using canonical tags is having multiple `rel=”canonical”` tags on the same page. This can confuse search engines, sending mixed signals about which page should be the canonical version.
When multiple canonical tags are present, search engines might ignore all of them, causing none of the intended canonical URLs to be recognized.
To prevent this, make sure each page has only one canonical tag. If you’re using multiple SEO plugins or themes that add canonical tags automatically, disable or remove any redundant tags to avoid this issue.
Incorrect Canonical URLs
Using incorrect or improperly formatted canonical URLs is another common mistake. This includes using relative URLs instead of absolute URLs or omitting the protocol (http or https) in the URL.
Relative URLs can cause indexing errors since they don’t provide the full path to the resource. Always use absolute URLs that include the protocol to ensure search engines correctly interpret the canonical tag.
Also, ensure that the canonical URL points to the correct page. For example, if you have a paginated series, don’t set all pages to point to the root page as canonical; instead, each page should have its own canonical URL.
This helps search engines understand your content’s structure and prevents confusion.
It’s important to use the correct protocol (HTTPS if your site is secure) in your canonical URLs. Using HTTP for a site available over HTTPS can lead to inconsistencies and may affect how search engines rank your pages.
Filtering Canonical Outputs in WordPress
If you need more advanced control over your canonical tags, WordPress offers several ways to adjust them programmatically. One powerful method is using the `get_canonical_url` filter hook. This hook lets you change the canonical URL dynamically based on specific conditions or custom logic. For those who prefer a streamlined, automated approach with less programming, an ai seo writing tool might be the answer to consistently produce SEO-optimized content, which adheres to best practices, including proper use of canonical tags.
To use the `get_canonical_url` filter, add a custom function to your theme’s `functions.php` file. Here’s an example of how to modify the canonical URL based on a specific query parameter:
php
function edit_canonical_urls( $canonical_url ) { if ( !empty( intval( $_GET['entry-number'] ) ) ) { global $wp; $new_canonical_url = home_url( add_query_arg( array(), $wp->request ) ). '/?entry-number='. intval( $_GET['entry-number'] ); return $new_canonical_url; } return $canonical_url;
}
add_filter( 'get_canonical_url', 'edit_canonical_urls' );
This example checks if there is a value for the `entry-number` query parameter and adjusts the canonical URL accordingly. This approach is useful for handling custom scenarios not covered by standard SEO plugins.
Another way to manage canonical tags programmatically is by using the `wpseo_canonical` filter provided by the Yoast SEO plugin. This filter allows you to customize the canonical URL output generated by Yoast SEO, giving you detailed control over how canonical tags are set for different content types like posts, pages, categories, and tags.
For example, you can use the following code to modify the canonical URL for specific post types or taxonomies:
php
function custom_yoast_canonical( $canonical ) { if ( is_singular( 'your_custom_post_type' ) ) { // Custom logic to generate the canonical URL $new_canonical = 'https://example.com/your-custom-url'; return $new_canonical; } return $canonical;
}
add_filter( 'wpseo_canonical', 'custom_yoast_canonical' );
This method ensures that your canonical URLs are tailored to your specific content structure and needs, enhancing your WordPress site’s SEO performance.
Conclusion
Adding canonical tags to your WordPress site is essential for managing duplicate content and optimizing your SEO. Remember to use only one canonical tag per page to avoid confusion, and ensure the URL is absolute and correctly formatted. Use SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to simplify the process, or add the tags manually if you prefer more control.
Regularly check your site for canonical tags using tools like Google Search Console and avoid common mistakes such as having multiple canonical tags or using incorrect URLs. Properly implementing canonical tags helps prevent duplicate content issues, consolidate link equity, and improve your site’s search engine rankings. Start optimizing your WordPress site today to enhance your SEO strategy.
