SEO Technical: Canonical

Guides canonical tag configuration to consolidate duplicate content and declare preferred URLs.

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (Technical SEO)

• Duplicate site versions: HTTPS vs HTTP; www vs non-www; trailing slash (/page vs /page/) — choose one, 301 redirect others
• Duplicate content: Canonical tags; consolidate and 301 to preferred URL

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .claude/product-marketing-context.md or .cursor/product-marketing-context.md exists, read it for site URL and language structure.

Identify:

1. Site URL: Base domain
2. Duplicate scenarios: Multi-language, query params, pagination, alternate URLs
3. Framework: Next.js, React, static, etc.

Canonicalization Methods (Choose by Scenario)

Method	When	Strength
301 redirect	Preferred; server can redirect	Strongest — permanent redirect
Canonical tag	Cannot redirect (e.g. params, pagination)	Strong — HTML signal
robots.txt	Block non-canonical paths	Weak — advisory only

Use 301 for HTTP→HTTPS, www variants, trailing slash. Use canonical for params, pagination, UTM.

When to Use Canonical

• Multi-language: Each language version has its own canonical; use hreflang with canonical
• Same content, multiple URLs: Params, pagination, tracking params, www vs non-www, trailing slash (/page vs /page/)
• Self-referencing: Canonical should point to self or the preferred version
• Avoid chain canonical: A→B→C is invalid

Rules

Rule	Note
Absolute URL	Include https://
Consistency	Must match current page URL or the chosen preferred version
No chains	A→B→C is invalid

Implementation Patterns

Next.js (metadata)

export const metadata = {
  alternates: {
    canonical: "https://example.com/page-slug",
    languages: {
      zh: "https://example.com/zh/page-slug",
      en: "https://example.com/page-slug",
      "x-default": "https://example.com/page-slug",
    },
  },
};

HTML (generic)

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

Server Redirects (301)

Apache (.htaccess):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Nginx:

return 301 https://$host$request_uri;

Relationship to Other Technical SEO

• Sitemap: URLs in sitemap should match canonical
• IndexNow: Submit canonical URLs

Output Format

• Canonical URL for each page type
• Implementation (metadata or HTML)
• Multi-language setup if applicable
• References: Alignify URL optimization; Google Canonical

Related Skills

• seo-on-page-url-structure: URL hierarchy and format; canonical handles duplicate variants (HTTPS, www, trailing slash)
• strategies-localization: hreflang + canonical for multi-language
• seo-technical-sitemap: Sitemap URLs should match canonical
• seo-technical-indexnow: Submit canonical URLs
• analytics-google-search-console: Find duplicate content in Coverage report
• seo-technical-indexing: Resolve indexing issues