Canonical Tag Generator

Generate a rel=canonical link tag to prevent duplicate content.

Is Absolute: YesQuery Stripped: Yes

Canonical (preferred) URL

Strip query string & fragment

Tag (paste into <head>)

Why canonical tags matter

When the same content is reachable at multiple URLs — with tracking parameters, trailing slashes, http vs https, or print versions — search engines can treat them as duplicates and split your ranking signals. The rel="canonical" tag names the single preferred URL so all that authority consolidates. Always use an absolute URL, place the tag in the page's <head>, and have each variant point to the same canonical. Generated locally in your browser.

Built and maintained by Meet Shah · Last updated 19 July 2026

What this tool is used for

Pointing several parameter variants of a page at one canonical URL.
Adding a self-referencing canonical to a page that has none.
Producing the tag for a syndicated copy that should credit the original.
Getting the absolute URL format right, which the tag requires.
Producing consistent canonicals across a template.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a canonical tag a command to Google?: No — it is a hint, and Google says so explicitly. It weighs your canonical against other signals: internal links, the sitemap, redirects, and which version it thinks users prefer. Conflicting signals are the usual reason a chosen canonical is ignored, so make them agree rather than adding more tags.
Should every page have one pointing at itself?: Yes, self-referencing canonicals are recommended. They cost nothing, and they settle the question when someone links to your page with tracking parameters appended — without one, that parameterised URL can be indexed as a page in its own right.
Should I strip the query string?: For tracking parameters, always — utm_source and friends identify the campaign, not the content. Not for parameters that change what is on the page: ?page=2 of a listing and ?size=large of a product are genuinely different pages, and canonicalising them to the bare URL tells Google to drop them.
Does it have to be an absolute URL?: Relative ones are technically resolved, but absolute is the only safe choice — a relative canonical breaks the moment the page is served under a different path, syndicated, or rendered by a tool that gets the base wrong. This generator adds https:// if you omit it, for exactly that reason.
What is the most common way this goes wrong?: Canonicalising to a page that is noindexed, redirected, or 404s — which asks Google to consolidate onto a page it has been told to ignore, so both drop out. A close second is a paginated series all canonicalising to page one, which quietly de-indexes everything after it.

Common errors and gotchas

Using a relative URL, which the tag does not accept reliably.
Pointing every page at the homepage, which asks for the whole site to be dropped from the index.
Canonicalising to a URL that redirects, which makes the signal ambiguous.
Combining a canonical with a conflicting `noindex`, which sends contradictory instructions.
Assuming a canonical is obeyed, when it is a strong hint rather than a directive.