How to Add Canonical Links to Your Funnel or Website

The introduction of Canonical Links to our SEO toolkit is a significant enhancement to optimize your website's search engine visibility. Canonical links are essential for preventing duplicate content issues and directing search engines to the primary version of a webpage, thereby improving your website's overall SEO performance. In this article, you will learn how to use the Canonical Links in your funnel.

What is a Canonical Link?

The purpose of a canonical link is to indicate to search engines which URL is the "master" or primary version of a page. This is particularly useful in situations where similar or identical content appears under multiple URLs. By specifying a canonical URL, you help prevent issues related to duplicate content in search engine indexing.

For example, you might have two URLs that display the same content:

http://example.com/page
http://example.com/page?sessionid=123

In this case, even though both URLs lead to the same content, you would choose one (usually the cleaner, more straightforward URL) as the canonical URL. This tells search engines which version of the page to index and rank. The canonical URL is typically provided in the HTML head of the webpage using a link element with the rel="canonical" attribute.

Adding the Canonical Link to the SEO Meta Data

• Start by navigating to the SEO Meta Data tab in the page editor/builder for your funnel/website. Once the editor is open, the SEO Meta Data button can be found on the top navigation menu. This is where you can manage various SEO settings for your website or funnel.

• In the SEO Meta Data section, scroll down and select “Links & Tags.” Click on the “+Add” button for Canonical Links and input the URL of the page you wish to set as the canonical version. This URL should represent the primary version of the content you want search engines to index and display.

• After entering the canonical link, save your SEO metadata settings. This action ensures that your canonical link settings are stored and applied.
• Save the changes in your funnel or website page as well.

Verifying the Canonical Link is working

• To ensure that the canonical link is correctly implemented, preview the page. This step helps verify that the canonical link appears as intended.
• On the page where you’ve added the canonical link, right-click anywhere on the background.
• From the context menu that appears, choose the option to "View Page Source". This opens up the HTML source code of your page.

• In the source code, look for the canonical link. Verify that it is present and correctly points to your intended URL.

FAQ

What happens if I don’t use canonical links?

Without canonical links, search engines might index multiple versions of the same content, leading to potential duplicate content penalties. This can dilute your SEO efforts and negatively impact your search rankings.

Can I use canonical links for pages with similar content?

Yes, canonical links are particularly useful for pages with similar or near-duplicate content. By directing search engines to the primary version of the content, you help consolidate the SEO value to one URL.

Is it necessary to use canonical links for every page?

Not every page requires a canonical link. Use them when you have multiple URLs for the same content or when similar content exists across different pages. For unique, single-URL content, canonical links are typically not needed.

Can I change the canonical link after it’s been set?

Yes, you can change the canonical link at any time by updating the URL in the SEO Meta Data section of the page editor. Just remember to save the changes and verify that the new link is implemented correctly.