As an e-commerce store owner using Magento 2, you are always looking for ways to improve your website’s search engine rankings. Thanks to Magento’s robust features, you can optimize your site for SEO with ease. One of the ways you can improve your site’s SEO is by using canonical tags.
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What are canonical tags?
Canonical tags are HTML elements that help search engines understand which of multiple pages with similar content is the primary page. The canonical tag is an HTML element that tells Google which page is the master content source.
Using canonical tags ensures that search engines index the desired version of a web page. When web pages have duplicate content, canonical tags can help avoid confusion or penalization by search engines.
How does Magento 2 support SEO?
Magento 2 is a popular e-commerce platform known for its SEO capabilities. Magento 2 has many built-in features that enable you to optimize your website. Here are some of the ways Magento 2 can help you with SEO:
1. Flexible URL structures
Magento 2 allows you to customize the URLs of your store’s web pages. You can choose to include category paths in your URLs or remove them. Customizing your URLs can help search engines crawl and understand your site structure.
2. Meta data
Magento 2 allows you to create meta descriptions for your store’s web pages. Meta descriptions are concise descriptions that appear below the title tag in search engine results pages. Creating engaging meta descriptions can improve your click-through rate and increase traffic to your site.
3. Content optimization
Magento 2 has tools to help you optimize your website’s content. You can use Magento 2’s built-in text editor to format your text and add headings. Adding keywords to your heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) can boost your site’s search engine ranking.
Magento 2 also allows you to create XML sitemaps of your website. XML sitemaps help search engines crawl your site efficiently.
Integrating canonical tags and Magento 2 SEO
Now that you understand what canonical tags are and how they can improve your website’s SEO, it’s time to integrate them with your Magento 2 SEO strategy.
Magento 2 supports the use of canonical tags in the following ways:
1. Product pages
Magento 2 includes the option to add a canonical tag to each product page. Every product page has a unique URL, and the canonical URL should be set to the product’s primary URL. Setting the correct canonical URL can help search engines understand which product page to index.
2. Category pages
Magento 2 allows you to add canonical tags to category pages. If you have multiple versions of a category page, you can set the canonical URL to the primary page. Using canonical tags in this way can help avoid issues with duplicate content.
3. CMS pages
Magento 2 also supports canonical tags for CMS pages. If you have multiple versions of a CMS page, you can set the canonical URL to the primary page.
Best practices for using canonical tags in Magento 2
Here are some best practices for using canonical tags in Magento 2:
1. Use unique URLs for each page
Each web page on your site should have a unique URL. Duplicate URLs can cause confusion for search engines and hurt your website’s search engine rankings.
2. Set the correct canonical URL
Make sure to set the correct canonical URL for each web page on your site. Double check to ensure that you have set the primary URL as the canonical URL.
3. Regularly audit your site for duplicate content
Perform regular audits of your website to identify duplicate content. If you find duplicate content, use canonical tags to set the primary URL.
4. Monitor your site’s search engine rankings
Keep an eye on your site’s search engine rankings to ensure that your canonical tags are working correctly. Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor your site’s performance.
Conclusion
Canonical tags can be a helpful tool for improving your website’s SEO. Magento 2 supports canonical tags for product pages, category pages, and CMS pages. By following best practices and regularly monitoring your site’s search engine rankings, you can use canonical tags and Magento 2 SEO together to improve your website’s search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your site.