- Free, no sign-up
- Up to 10 URLs at once
- Finds canonical chains
Free Bulk Canonical Checker
Check the canonical tag of up to 10 URLs at once: self-referencing, missing, conflicting, cross-domain, chained or pointing at a broken page.
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Checks self-referencing, missing and conflicting tags, cross-domain canonicals, chains and broken targets.
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How to use it
Check canonical tags in three steps
Paste your URLs
One per line, with or without https://. Up to 10 at a time, so you can check a whole template or section in one go.
Click Check Canonical Tags
We load each page, read its canonical tag and Link header, then visit the URL it points to.
Open the cards
Each URL gets a card with a status, the canonical it points to and every problem we found. The summary on top tells you how many need attention.
Also calledCanonical tag checkerCanonical URL checkerCanonicalization checker
Built forSEO specialistsSite ownersAgenciesOnline shopsDevelopers
What it checks
What the canonical checker finds
The six canonical problems that quietly split or lose your rankings.
Self-referencing
Confirms the page's canonical points back to the page itself, the safe default for most pages.
Missing tags
Flags pages with no canonical in the HTML and none in the HTTP Link header.
Conflicting tags
Spots several canonical tags that disagree, or an HTML tag that says something different from the Link header.
Canonical chains
Opens the target page too, and warns when its own canonical points somewhere else again.
Cross-domain canonicals
Highlights canonicals that point to another domain, so you can confirm that is on purpose.
Broken targets
Checks that the canonical URL actually loads, and tells you when it redirects, returns an error or cannot be reached.
Reading the results
What your results mean
Each card starts with a status. Here is what to do about each one.
Self-referencing
The page names itself as the original. Nothing to do, as long as the URL in the tag is the exact version you want indexed (https, www or not, trailing slash).
Points to another URL
Fine for duplicates, filtered listings or tracking variants. Wrong on a page you want to rank on its own: change the tag to the page's own URL.
Missing canonical
Search engines will pick the original themselves. Add a self-referencing tag, usually one setting in your SEO plugin or page template.
Conflicting canonicals
Two sources disagree, often a theme and a plugin both adding a tag. Google may ignore both. Keep one tag and remove the other.
Common mistakes
Canonical mistakes and how to fix them
The problems we see most often on real sites.
Every page points to the home page
A template bug that tells Google all your pages are copies of one. Make each page's canonical its own URL.
Paginated pages point to page 1
Page 2, 3 and so on list different items, so they are not duplicates. Give each a self-referencing canonical.
Canonical uses http:// or the wrong host
After a move to https or www, old tags often stay behind. Update them to the live version so they don't point at a redirect.
Canonical left pointing at staging
A tag copied from a test site, such as staging.example.com, tells Google the original lives on a site it cannot or should not index. Replace it with the live URL.
Two tags after a template change
A new theme adds its own canonical while your SEO plugin still adds one. Nobody notices until rankings slip. Keep one source only.
Canonical plus noindex
These send mixed signals. If a page is a duplicate, use the canonical alone and let it pass its signals on.
Why it matters
Why canonical tags matter
A canonical tag, <link rel="canonical" href="…">, tells search engines which version of a page is the one to index when the same content is reachable at more than one URL.
That happens more than you think: the same page with and without a trailing slash, with tracking parameters such as ?utm_source=, with sort and filter options, on http and https, or with and without www. Get the canonical wrong and your ranking signals are split across several URLs instead of adding up on one.
Most canonical problems are not dramatic. They are a tag that was never added, one left pointing at a staging URL, or two tags that disagree after a template change. This checker catches all of that in seconds, for a batch of URLs instead of one at a time.
Rankings stay together
Links and signals spread across duplicates are pooled on one URL instead of competing with each other.
The right page shows up
You choose which version appears in search results, not a sorted, filtered or tracking-tagged copy.
Less wasted crawling
Clear canonicals help crawlers spend their time on your real pages rather than on near-identical copies.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does a canonical checker check?
It loads each page and reads the rel="canonical" link in the HTML head and any canonical in the HTTP Link header. It compares them, checks whether the canonical points back to the page, and visits the target URL to see whether it loads and whether it points somewhere else again.
Is this canonical checker free?
Yes, with no sign-up. You can check up to 10 URLs per request. A fair-use limit of 10 checks a minute keeps it fast for everyone.
Can it check canonical tags in bulk?
Yes. Paste up to 10 URLs at once, one per line, and each one gets its own result card. The summary at the top counts how many are fine and how many need attention.
What does "self-referencing" mean?
The page's canonical points to its own URL. It is the recommended setup for any page you want to rank, because it stops tracking parameters and other variants from being treated as separate pages.
Does it check canonicals sent in the HTTP header?
Yes. Canonicals in the Link header are common on PDFs and some CDNs. If the header and the HTML tag point to different URLs, we flag it as a conflict.
What is a canonical chain and why is it a problem?
Page A says B is the original, but B says C is. Search engines may not follow the whole chain and can ignore the hint. Point A straight to the final URL.
Is a cross-domain canonical always wrong?
No. It is the right choice for syndicated articles or a store that copies product pages to a second domain. We flag it so you can confirm it is intended.
Does it read canonicals added by JavaScript?
No. We read the HTML the server sends, which is what most crawlers see first. If your canonical only appears after JavaScript runs, move it into the server-side HTML.
Do you store the URLs I check?
No. A result is kept for a few minutes so repeat checks are fast, then it is gone.
Keep going
More free SEO tools
A correct canonical is one part of getting a page indexed. These checks cover the rest.
- Noindex Tag Checker: make sure the page is not blocked from Google's index.
- HTTP Status Checker: confirm the canonical URL returns 200, not a redirect or a 404.
- Robots.txt Tester: check that crawlers are allowed to reach the page.
- Meta Tag Analyzer: review the title, description and social tags.
- Schema Markup Validator: check your structured data for errors.
- SSL Checker: confirm the HTTPS certificate is valid.
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Fix canonical issues before they cost you rankings
A missing or conflicting tag can split your rankings across duplicate pages. Paste up to 10 URLs and check them in seconds, free.