Impact on rankings: not effective
What is a canonical tag?
A canonical tag counts as a type of attribute tag. You add it to your pages so that the version and the main content you want are the ones shown.
It is used first of all for duplicate pages and duplicate content. It is a sign to Google that two duplicate pages should be merged.
In effect you are reminding Google that you know the pages are similar and that the similarity is not accidental: this is the page you prefer over the other one. Showing that preference can help Google’s algorithms in their decisions.
But the tag is a very weak signal, one Google can simply ignore. Canonical is important for keeping a site orderly; at best, though, it is only a suggestion, and it does not affect indexing or ranking.
Omid Bodagh
I am an SEO specialist who likes helping businesses get seen on Google. From WordPress to SEO, whatever an online business needs to grow, I can help with it.
