Canonical Tag Generator & Checker
Turn any URL into a clean canonical tag, and check whether a page’s existing canonical is set up correctly.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
Page URL
Preferred host
Trailing slash
Match whatever your site already uses — /page and /page/ are different URLs.
Check a page’s existing canonical (optional)
Open the page, press Ctrl+U (⌥⌘U on Mac) to view source, copy everything and paste it here. Nothing is uploaded.
Your canonical tag
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/Blog/Best-Running-Shoes/">What changed
Lower-cased the host name (host names are not case-sensitive).
Switched http:// to https://.
Removed the fragment “#reviews” (search engines ignore everything after #).
Removed tracking parameters: utm_source, utm_medium, gclid.
Removed the default index file name from the path.
The path has capital letters. Paths are case-sensitive, so /Blog/ and /blog/ are different pages — make sure the canonical matches the exact case your site links to (lowercase is the usual choice).
For PDFs and other non-HTML files, send an HTTP header instead:
Link: <https://example.com/Blog/Best-Running-Shoes/>; rel="canonical"
How canonical tags work
The same page can often be reached at many addresses: with and without www, over http and https, with a trailing slash or without, and with tracking parameters added by emails and ads. To a search engine these are separate URLs with duplicate content. A canonical tag — <link rel="canonical" href="…"> in the <head> — names the one version you want indexed, so ranking signals are combined instead of split.
This tool builds that preferred version for you. For example, http://Example.com/Blog/Best-Running-Shoes/index.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&gclid=abc123#reviews becomes https://example.com/Blog/Best-Running-Shoes/ — the scheme is switched to https, the host is lowercased, the index file, #reviews fragment and three tracking parameters are removed, and the path keeps its original case because paths are case-sensitive.
When should you use a canonical tag?
- On every indexable page, pointing to itself (a “self-referencing” canonical) — a cheap safeguard against parameter duplicates.
- On product variants or sorted/filtered listings that show essentially the same content as a main page.
- On syndicated or republished articles, pointing to the original.
- Not as a replacement for a redirect: if an old URL should disappear, use a 301 redirect instead.
Canonical vs noindex vs 301 redirect
A 301 redirect sends people and bots to the new URL — use it when a page has moved. A canonical keeps both URLs working for visitors but asks search engines to index one. noindex removes a page from results entirely. A canonical is a strong hint, not a command: Google may choose a different URL if your internal links, sitemap and redirects point elsewhere, so keep them consistent.
Frequently asked questions
- Should the canonical URL be absolute or relative?
- Absolute. Relative URLs are allowed, but a full https:// URL avoids mistakes when pages are reached through different hosts or protocols.
- Can paginated pages (page 2, 3…) point their canonical to page 1?
- Usually not. Page 2 has different content from page 1, so give each paginated page a self-referencing canonical, unless you have a “view all” page that contains everything.
- Why did Google pick a different canonical than mine?
- Google weighs several signals: redirects, internal links, sitemap URLs, https and the canonical tag. If they disagree, it chooses for itself. Check the URL Inspection tool in Search Console and make all signals point to the same URL.
- Does the canonical tag pass link equity like a redirect?
- When Google accepts it, signals such as links to the duplicate URLs are consolidated onto the canonical URL — similar in effect to a redirect, while both URLs stay available to visitors.