Page Level SEO Warning: Canonical Tag is Missing

If you see the warning in SureRank: “Canonical tag is not present on the page.”

This guide will help you understand what it means, why it matters for SEO, and how to fix it.

What’s the Problem

A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a page is the “main” version. It helps prevent duplicate content issues when multiple URLs display the same or similar content.

Without a canonical tag, search engines may:

• Index duplicate versions of the same page
• Split ranking signals like backlinks between duplicates
• Display the wrong page in search results

Example issues caused by missing canonical tags:

• https://example.com/page and https://example.com/page?ref=twitter are treated as two separate pages
• Duplicate content penalties may reduce your SEO performance
• Rich results and structured data may not work properly

Why This Matters

Canonical tags are critical for:

• SEO clarity: Ensures search engines understand the preferred page
• Ranking consolidation: All backlinks point to one canonical URL
• Duplicate content prevention: Avoids penalties from duplicate content
• Structured data accuracy: Rich results and snippets rely on a single source

How to Fix It

SureRank automatically sets the page, post, and CPT URL as canonical by default once the SureRank plugin is activated. If not, follow the steps below.

Step 1 – Check Your Current Canonical Tag

• Open the page in your browser
• Right-click and select View Page Source Look for a line like:  <link rel=”canonical” href=”https://example.com/page/”>
• If it’s missing, you need to add it using SureRank or your page builder.

Step 2 – Add a Canonical URL via SureRank

• Edit Page 
• Open SureRank Settings
• Advance tab  Canonical URL
• Enter the full URL of the preferred page version
• Click Save Changes

Step 3 – Using a Page Builder

If your page uses a builder (Elementor, Beaver Builder, etc.):

• Make sure the builder allows SureRank to manage canonical tags
• Edit the page settings in SureRank and add the canonical URL
• Some builders may cache the page and refresh the page after saving

Step 4 – Verify Your Fix

• Open the page source and confirm the canonical tag appears
• Use the Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool to confirm that the canonical is recognized

Step 5 – Verify with SureRank

• Edit the page in WordPress.
• Click the SureRank icon in the top-right corner of the editor.
• Select Analyze – this will open the Analyze tab, showing a list of Page Checks.
• Once the changes are made, the SureRank page-level check will automatically run and update the status.
• If editing the page using a Page Builder, please save your changes in the editor before refreshing the checks.