How to Fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag?

Have you ever wondered how Google treats duplicate pages with the same content published on a website?

Duplicate pages can harm your website by confusing search engines, affecting rankings, and offering a bad user experience.

To fix this issue, digital marketers perform “Canonalization of the URL,” creating a canonical tag or URL for that page.

This practice indicates that Google should use the preferred page to prevent your website from getting penalized.

If you are unfamiliar with how to fix an alternate page issue with a proper canonical tag, we are here to help you with this comprehensive guide to fix this issue and improve your website’s SEO.

Let’s start learning!

Concept of Canonical Tag

Suppose your website is experiencing page duplication, and you want to indicate a particular page as the preferred one using the canonical tag. In that case, you can demonstrate that page as the “Official Page.”

To define a page as official, you use a piece of HTML code (rel=”canonical”) that helps search engines learn which is the primary or canonical version of the URL.

The canonical tag allows you to choose the preferred link as a canonical URL from the multiple links of the identical content you can provide to search engines for indexing.

Here is an example of how you can use this code:

				
					<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/preferred-page/">
				
			

This example depicts a canonical tag in which you tell search engines that the link “https://example.com/preferred-page” is the preferred version of the similar content you will see on the website.

Fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag

Here is the entire process for resolving the issue of duplicate pages on your website using canonical tags.

Verify the Canonical Tag Setup

• Look for the HTML source of the particular page.
• Check the (<link rel=”canonical”>) tag and verify all the links associated with the page.
• Ensure that the canonical link points to the page you want to index.

Audit and Merge Duplicate Pages

• Check if there are multiple pages with slight variations. If they differ because of color, filter, or parameters, try to merge them into a single page.
• Try using tags appropriately and point them carefully to a single and primary version of the particular page.

Implement Parameter Management

• Set up URL parameters in the Google search console to determine how search engines treat duplicate URLs.
• You can also use Google Analytics to track these parameters without creating new URLs, reducing the need for new canonical tags.

Manage Mobile and Desktop Versions

• If you have created different versions of a particular page for mobile and desktop users, ensure that you make an appropriate canonical setup for them.
• You can use the (<link rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width: 640px)”>) attribute to showcase mobile pages paired with the desktop URL.

Keep a Check on New Issues

• Ensure you watch your canonical setup, as your website may raise new canonical issues as it evolves.
• Tools such as Google Search Console can be used to audit your website and find new issues before they impact its SEO performance.

Conclusion

Addressing issues related to “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” is crucial for optimizing your SEO and content strategy.

It’s essential to ensure that Google can quickly identify the primary content for indexing. Regular audits of your canonical tags, consolidating duplicate pages, and effectively managing URL parameters are critical steps in this process.

By doing so, you enhance your SEO and prevent the dilution of ranking power across similar pages.

A well-maintained canonical setup results in a more authoritative and user-friendly website, benefiting your audience and search engine performance.