What it means
A canonical tag is a line in a page's HTML that says "the main version of this page is over there":
<link rel="canonical" href="https://northwind-outdoors.com/products/trail-tent-2p" />When URL A carries a canonical tag that points to URL B, and Google agrees, Google indexes B and lists A under this row. Both pages still work for visitors. Only one shows in search.
Google's help page names the classic cases: "an AMP page with a desktop canonical, or a mobile version of a desktop canonical, or the desktop version of a mobile canonical." On most sites today, the URLs in this row come from more everyday sources.
Where these URLs usually come from
| Source | Example | Normal? |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking parameters | /pricing?utm_source=newsletter | Yes |
| Shopify product paths inside collections | /collections/tents/products/trail-tent-2p points to /products/trail-tent-2p | Yes, Shopify themes do this by default |
| Sort and filter URLs | /tents?sort=price | Yes |
| Print or share versions | /guide/print | Yes |
| AMP or separate mobile pages | /amp/guide | Yes |
| A page you want indexed | /services/teeth-whitening points to /services | No, fix it |
A large number in this row is not a warning sign. A store with 300 products in 10 collections can easily show thousands of these.
When it is a problem
Two cases need action:
- A key page points its canonical at another page by mistake. This happens when a template copies one canonical to every page, a plugin sets the homepage as canonical everywhere, or a staging URL is left in the tag. The page you want in Google will never be indexed while that tag points away.
- These URLs are in your sitemap. A sitemap should list only the canonical URLs. Switch the report filter to All submitted pages: if this row still appears, your sitemap lists alternates.
How to check with URL Inspection
- Paste one example URL into URL Inspection.
- Open Page indexing and read two lines: User-declared canonical and Google-selected canonical.
- If both point to the page you want indexed, the row is fine.
- If the user-declared canonical points to a page you did not intend, fix the tag on the alternate page.
To check many pages at once, use our free canonical tag checker.
Where to fix a wrong canonical, by platform
- WordPress (Yoast): edit the post, open the Yoast panel > Advanced > Canonical URL. Leave it empty for a self-referencing canonical.
- WordPress (Rank Math): edit the post, Rank Math panel > Advanced tab > Canonical URL.
- Shopify: the theme prints the canonical from
canonical_urlin theme.liquid. A wrong canonical is usually a theme edit or an app. Check theme.liquid first. - Webflow: Page settings > SEO settings > Page canonical URL for static pages, and Site settings > SEO > Global canonical tag URL for the whole site (Webflow Help Center).
- Wix: the page's SEO settings > Advanced SEO > Additional tags > canonical. Wix adds a self-referencing canonical to every page by default (Wix Help Center).
Canonical vs redirect: which to use
| Use a canonical tag when | Use a 301 redirect when |
|---|---|
| Visitors still need the alternate URL (tracking links, filters, print view) | Nobody needs the old URL anymore |
| The pages are the same or nearly the same | The page moved or was merged |
| You want to keep both versions live | You want one version only |
Google calls both redirects and canonical tags "a strong signal" and sitemap inclusion "a weak signal." Signals can stack, so a canonical tag, consistent internal links and a clean sitemap work best together (Google, consolidate duplicate URLs, updated July 2026). A redirect shows up as Page with redirect instead. When duplicates have no canonical at all, see Duplicate without user-selected canonical.
The free 13-page Page indexing fix guide covers all 17 reasons with a triage tree and a printable tracker.
How to use this with an AI assistant
Connect SEOmatic at https://seomatic.ai/mcp and ask: "Sign me in with connect_seomatic, then inspect my 20 most important pages with gsc_indexing (action: batch_inspect). Show user-declared vs Google-selected canonical for each and flag any key page whose canonical points somewhere else." Reading your data is free after sign-in.
More from the page indexing fix guide
- The checklistPage indexing: why pages aren't indexed, and how to fix each reason
- GuideCrawled - currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it
- GuideDiscovered - currently not indexed: why it happens and how to fix it
- GuideSoft 404: what it is and how to fix it
- Guide"Page with redirect" in Search Console: is it a problem?
- GuideDuplicate without user-selected canonical: how to fix it