Magento 2 is a powerful e-commerce platform that offers numerous features for online retailers. However, like any other website, Magento 2 stores need to be optimized for search engines to attract organic traffic and improve sales. One of the essential aspects of Magento 2 SEO is using canonical URLs.
Canonical URLs help to prevent duplicate content issues, which can harm your SEO efforts. By specifying the preferred version of a web page, you can ensure that search engines index your site correctly and assign the appropriate value to your pages. In this article, we will discuss how to use canonical URLs in Magento 2 to improve your SEO.
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What are Canonical URLs?
A canonical URL is the preferred version of a web page that you want search engines to index and rank. Duplicate content issues can arise when identical or similar content is accessible through multiple URLs, such as:
- Different versions of a product page (for example, with or without www)
- Multiple category pages that contain the same products
- Session IDs that are added to URLs dynamically
These duplicates can confuse search engines and negatively affect your SEO rankings, as they split the link equity between multiple URLs and reduce the relevance of your content.
With canonical URLs, you can let search engines know which version of a page is the primary one and should be considered for indexing and ranking. You can specify this through a canonical tag in the head section of your HTML code, which points to the canonical URL of the page.
How to Use Canonical URLs in Magento 2
Magento 2 makes it easy to set up canonical URLs for your store pages. Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1: Enable Canonical URLs in Magento 2
By default, Magento 2 includes a canonical tag in the head section of your web pages. However, you can customize the settings in your store’s configuration to enable or disable canonical URLs.
To check if canonical URLs are enabled, go to the Magento 2 Admin panel and navigate to Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Catalog. Under the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) section, look for the Canonical Link Meta Tag setting and ensure it is set to Yes.
Step 2: Identify Pages with Duplicate Content
The next step is to identify pages on your store that may have duplicate content issues. This could include:
- Product pages that have multiple URLs, such as /productA.html and /products/1.html
- Category pages that include products from other categories
- Filtered pages that display the same products but with different attributes or sorting orders
You can use a variety of tools to identify these pages, such as Google Search Console, SEMrush, or Ahrefs. Once you have a list of URLs that need canonical tags, you can move on to the next step.
Step 3: Set Up Canonical Tags for Your Pages
To add a canonical tag to your Magento 2 web pages, follow these steps:
- Log in to your Magento 2 Admin Dashboard.
- Navigate to Products > Inventory > Catalog.
- Locate the product you want to add a canonical URL to and click on it.
- Under the Search Engine Optimization tab, enter the preferred URL in the Canonical URL field.
- Save your changes.
If you want to add a canonical tag to a category page, follow these steps:
- Log in to your Magento 2 Admin Dashboard.
- Navigate to Products > Categories.
- Locate the category you want to add a canonical URL to and click on it.
- Under the Search Engine Optimization tab, enter the preferred URL in the Canonical URL field.
- Save your changes.
Step 4: Test Your Canonical URLs
Once you have added canonical tags to your pages, it’s important to test them to ensure they are working correctly. You can use tools like Google Search Console or a crawling tool like Screaming Frog to check if your canonical URLs are being implemented correctly.
Best Practices for Using Canonical URLs in Magento 2
Here are some best practices to follow when using canonical URLs in Magento 2:
Use Absolute URLs
When specifying canonical URLs, use absolute URLs that include the protocol (http:// or https://) and the domain name (www.example.com). This ensures that search engines can recognize the preferred version of your page and avoid confusion.
Avoid Self-Referencing Canonical URLs
Don’t use the same URL as the canonical URL for a page. This can cause a loop and confuse search engines, leading to negative SEO results. Instead, use the URL of the preferred version of the page.
Don’t Use Canonical URLs for Paginated Content
Canonical URLs are designed to handle duplicate content on different pages, not content that appears on the same page in different sections. For paginated content, you can use rel="next" and rel="prev" tags to indicate the relationship between pages.
Be Consistent with Your Canonical URLs
If you change the URL of a page, make sure to update the canonical tag to reflect the new URL. Inconsistent or broken canonical tags can harm your SEO efforts, as search engines will not recognize the preferred version of your pages.
Conclusion
Canonical URLs are an essential aspect of Magento 2 SEO, helping to prevent duplicate content issues and improve your search engine rankings. By specifying the preferred version of your pages, you can ensure that search engines index and rank your site correctly, leading to increased traffic and sales. Follow the best practices outlined in this article to ensure your canonical URLs are correctly set up and working as intended.