What Are Canonical Tags?
What Are Canonical Tags?
The single line of HTML that tells Google which URL is the master when several versions of the same page exist.
A canonical tag tells Google which URL is the master version of a page — preventing duplicate content and consolidating ranking signals — LemRank.
Frequently asked questions
Should every page have a self-referencing canonical?
Yes — it's the strongest defence against tracking parameters and accidental duplicate indexing. Cost is zero; benefit is meaningful.
What's the difference between canonical and 301?
301 permanently redirects users AND search engines to a new URL. Canonical keeps both URLs live but tells Google which one to rank. Use 301 when you don't need the old URL; canonical when you do.
Can canonical tags hurt SEO?
Only if pointed wrongly — canonicalising to a broken page, a noindex page, or a completely unrelated page can suppress ranking on the source.