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Canonical Tag Checker

Enter a URL or paste the HTML: the tool reads the canonicals in the HTML and the Link header, compares them with the page URL and tests the target.

Privacy and cost

This tool requests the public URL you enter from our servers. It is free, rate-limited to prevent abuse, and we do not store the URL or the page content.

How it works

  1. Enter the page URL, or paste the HTML (and the page URL for comparison).
  2. The tool finds canonical tags in the <head>, those wrongly placed in the <body> and the HTTP Link header.
  3. It tells you whether the page is self-canonical and flags problems; a button tests the canonical URL's HTTP status without following redirects.

Example

A page https://example.com/shoes containing <link rel="canonical" href="/shoes?utm_source=news"> gets the status "Points elsewhere" with three findings: relative URL (resolved to https://example.com/shoes?utm_source=news), tracking parameter in the canonical, and a canonical different from the page URL.

What the result means

A good canonical is unique, absolute, free of tracking parameters, placed in the <head> and usually identical to the page URL (self-canonical). It should point to a URL that answers 200. A canonical to another domain hands the page's signals to that site.

Common problems this tool helps with

  • No canonical, or several that contradict each other: Google ignores them and chooses on its own.
  • A relative canonical, an http one on an https site, or one with tracking parameters.
  • A canonical pointing to a redirected, missing or noindexed URL.
  • A cross-domain canonical added by a plugin without anyone noticing.

Frequently asked questions

Is a canonical that differs from the URL an error?

Not necessarily: it exists precisely to group duplicates on a preferred version. It is a problem if unintended, or if the target is itself redirected or blocked.

Does the tool read canonicals added by JavaScript?

No, it reads the raw HTML the server returns. Google may see a canonical injected after rendering, but it is safer to put it in the original HTML.

What does the target test do?

It sends a HEAD request to the canonical URL without following redirects, to flag a target that redirects (3xx) or errors (4xx, 5xx).

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