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Google Search Console: Alternative page with proper canonical tag

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Posted on | by Rajesh Kumar

A canonical tag is an HTML element that helps website owners prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the “preferred” or “canonical” version of a webpage among multiple pages with similar or identical content. The canonical tag is placed in the <head> section of a webpage’s HTML and looks like this:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-page-url/" />

How Canonical Tags Work:

  • Indicating the Preferred URL: When you have multiple URLs leading to the same or very similar content (e.g., a product page that can be accessed through different categories or URLs with tracking parameters), the canonical tag tells search engines like Google which version of the page you want to be considered the primary one.
  • Consolidating Ranking Signals: By using a canonical tag, you’re instructing search engines to consolidate the ranking signals (such as backlinks, social shares, etc.) to the specified canonical URL. This helps prevent dilution of these signals across multiple URLs and ensures that the preferred page ranks better in search results.

Common Use Cases:

  1. Duplicate Content Across Different URLs:
    • Example: A product page accessible via multiple categories or URLs with different parameters (example.com/product?color=red and example.com/product?color=blue).
    • Solution: Set the canonical tag on all versions to point to the main product page URL (example.com/product).
  2. Content Syndication:
    • Example: If you publish an article on your own website and syndicate it to other websites, those other sites can use a canonical tag pointing to your original article to avoid duplicate content issues.
  3. Parameterized URLs:
    • Example: URLs that include tracking parameters (example.com/page?utm_source=newsletter) but lead to the same content as the base URL.
    • Solution: Use a canonical tag to point to the clean URL without the tracking parameters (example.com/page).

Benefits of Using Canonical Tags:

  • Avoid Duplicate Content Issues: Helps prevent search engines from penalizing your site for duplicate content, which can occur when the same content is accessible via multiple URLs.
  • Improves SEO: By consolidating ranking signals, canonical tags help ensure that the preferred version of a page ranks higher in search engine results.
  • Simplifies Content Management: Makes it easier to manage content across your site, especially if you have similar content on multiple pages.

Important Considerations:

  • Self-Referencing Canonical Tags: It’s a good practice to add a canonical tag that points to the URL of the page itself. This is known as a self-referencing canonical tag and helps avoid confusion for search engines.
  • Consistency: Ensure that the canonical tags are used consistently across your site to avoid conflicting signals to search engines.

In summary, canonical tags are essential for managing duplicate content on your website and ensuring that search engines understand which version of a page you want to prioritize in search results.

Search Console has identified that some pages on your site are not being indexed due to the following new reason:

Alternative page with proper canonical tag

If this reason is not intentional, we recommend that you fix it in order to get affected pages indexed and appearing on Google.

The message from Google Search Console indicates that some pages on your site are being identified as “Alternative page with proper canonical tag.” This means that Google has found multiple pages with very similar or identical content, and one of these pages has been marked as the preferred or “canonical” version using a canonical tag. As a result, the other pages are not being indexed because Google is prioritizing the canonical version.

Here’s what you can do depending on your intention:

  1. If the Canonical Tag is Intentional:
    • No action is needed if you deliberately set the canonical tags to consolidate duplicate or similar content. Google is following your instructions by indexing only the canonical version of the page.
  2. If the Canonical Tag is Unintentional:
    • Review Canonical Tags: Check the affected pages to ensure that the canonical tags are correctly set. You may have mistakenly set a canonical tag on these pages, pointing to another URL.
    • Fix the Tags: If the canonical tag was set in error, update or remove the canonical tags on the affected pages to reflect the correct version you want indexed.
    • Test Changes: After making the changes, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to test the updated pages and request reindexing.

By making sure the canonical tags are correctly set, you can ensure that the right pages are being indexed and displayed in Google search results.

Handling the “Alternative page with proper canonical tag” issue effectively is important for ensuring your website’s SEO is optimized. Here are the best practices:

1. Understand When to Use Canonical Tags

  • Duplicate or Similar Content: Use canonical tags when you have multiple pages with similar or duplicate content to signal to Google which version should be prioritized in search results.
  • Sorting and Filtering Pages: On e-commerce sites or large blogs, you may have pages that are sorted or filtered differently but contain largely the same content. Canonical tags should point to the main version of the page.

2. Ensure Correct Implementation of Canonical Tags

  • Consistent Canonical Tags: Make sure that the canonical tag on the canonical page points to itself. This consistency helps Google clearly understand which page to index.
  • Avoid Cross-Domain Canonical Tags: Use canonical tags within the same domain unless you have a specific reason to reference content on another domain.
  • Review Canonical Tags Regularly: Regularly audit your website to ensure canonical tags are still relevant, especially after making content updates.

3. Audit Pages with “Alternative Page with Proper Canonical Tag” Status

  • Review the Listed Pages: In Google Search Console, identify all pages listed under this status. Check if the canonical tag is pointing to the correct URL.
  • Decide Intentionality: Confirm whether each alternative page should indeed be treated as a duplicate and if it’s pointing to the right canonical page.

4. Minimize Thin or Low-Value Pages

  • Consolidate Thin Content: If you have pages with little content or minimal unique value, consider consolidating them into a more comprehensive page and setting the canonical tag accordingly.
  • Remove Unnecessary Pages: If some pages are truly unnecessary, consider deleting them and using 301 redirects to point to the relevant canonical page.

5. Handle Pagination Carefully

  • Rel=”next” and Rel=”prev”: For paginated content (e.g., blog posts or product listings across multiple pages), use rel="next" and rel="prev" attributes rather than canonical tags to maintain the sequence of pages.
  • Canonical Tags on Paginated Pages: Each page in a paginated series should have a self-referencing canonical tag, not one pointing to the first page of the series.

6. Use Google Search Console for Monitoring

  • Check for Errors: Regularly monitor the “Alternative page with proper canonical tag” status in Google Search Console to catch any unintended issues.
  • Use URL Inspection Tool: Use the URL Inspection tool to see how Google views the pages and to ensure that the canonical tags are being interpreted correctly.

7. Handle Non-Canonical Pages Carefully

  • Avoid Indexing Non-Canonical Pages: Ensure that non-canonical pages are either set to noindex if they shouldn’t appear in search results or are properly redirected if they are outdated or redundant.
  • Internal Linking: When possible, link to the canonical version of a page to reinforce its importance to both users and search engines.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that Google indexes the right pages on your site, improving your site’s visibility and preventing issues with duplicate content.

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