Free tool
Canonical tag checker
Check that every page names the right address as its canonical, and that the address it names loads. Enter your site or one page.
Free, no account. Usually a few seconds.
What it checks
Google and AI search engines pick one address for each page and show that one. The canonical tag is how you tell them which. When it is missing they guess; when it is broken, a page can be split across several addresses or hidden behind one that does not load.
The checker loads the page you enter and up to 20 pages from your sitemap. On each it reads the status after redirects, every canonical tag in the head and the canonical in the HTTP Link header, then follows the address the canonical names. It flags a missing canonical, more than one, one that points to a missing page or a redirect, a chain where that page names yet another canonical, http against https and www against non-www, and a canonical on a page marked noindex.
Each page comes back with its canonical and what to change. No account is needed and results are not saved; the same address checked again within ten minutes gets the last result.
Questions
- What is a canonical tag?
- A line in a page's <head>, <link rel="canonical" href="https://yourproduct.com/pricing">, that names the address you want search engines to show for that content. When the same page answers at several addresses (with and without www, with tracking parameters, with a trailing slash), the canonical tells them which one is the real one.
- Should a page have a canonical pointing to itself?
- Yes. A self-referencing canonical, where the page names its own address, is the safest default: it settles the question for every copy of the URL with parameters or a different host. Without one, search engines pick an address themselves.
- Canonical, noindex or redirect: which one should I use?
- Redirect when the old address should stop existing and visitors should land on the new one. Use a canonical when both addresses must keep working but only one should be shown in search. Use noindex when the page should not appear in search at all. Do not put noindex and a canonical on the same page: one says drop it, the other says show this other address, and the checker flags that conflict.
- Can a canonical point to another domain?
- Yes. A canonical can name a page on another domain, for example when you republish an article that first appeared elsewhere. Search engines treat it as a strong hint, not a rule, and the page it names must load and agree. The checker tells you when a canonical leaves your domain and whether that page answers.
- How many canonical tags can a page have?
- One. When a page has several canonicals that name different addresses, in its HTML or in its HTTP Link header, search engines may ignore all of them. Duplicates that name the same address do no harm today but tend to drift apart, so keep a single one.