Quick Reference
Element Code: IN-003
Issue: Page has more than one canonical tag
Impact: Search engines may ignore canonicals or pick unpredictably
Fix: Remove duplicate canonical tags, keep only one
Detection: Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, View Source
What Is This Issue?
When multiple canonical tags exist on a page, search engines don't know which one to trust. Google typically uses the first one, but this behavior isn't guaranteed. Multiple canonicals usually indicate plugin conflicts, theme issues, or manual additions conflicting with auto-generated ones.
Common Causes
- Multiple SEO plugins active
- Theme outputs canonical, plugin also outputs one
- Hard-coded canonical plus CMS-generated one
- JavaScript adding another canonical
How to Fix This Issue
- Find All Canonicals: Search page source for "canonical"
- Identify Sources: Determine what's generating each one
- Choose One Source: Disable duplicates in plugins/themes
- Verify Fix: Confirm only one canonical remains
TL;DR (The Simple Version)
Your page has multiple canonical tags. This confuses search engines about which is the real one. Find what's creating each (usually conflicting plugins) and remove the duplicates so only one canonical remains.
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