Check which address your page asks Google to index.
Enter any page. The checker reads its canonical tag and HTTP header, follows the canonical to the page it names, and checks it loads, is indexable and does not point on again. On a Shopify product it also checks the same product reached through a collection.
FreeNo accountAny store platform
Any page on any platform. On a Shopify product page we also check the same product reached through a collection.
The free RankX AI Shopify app works inside Shopify admin, where alt text, barcodes and search titles live. Fix one product or many at once, and undo any change with one click.
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On Shopify, the free RankX AI app fixes products inside Shopify admin: fix one product or many at once, and undo any change with one click. On WooCommerce: new listing copy proposed beside the current words and written to WooCommerce after you approve it.
What it checks
One page, one address to index
A canonical tag tells Google which address to index when the same product can be reached several ways: through a collection, with a variant parameter, with tracking tags or on another domain. The checker reads the tag, follows it and checks where it leads.
The tag
One, absolute, agreeing
That there is exactly one canonical, since Google ignores them all when a page has more than one, and that the HTTP header, if used, says the same.
Where it points
A page that works
That the canonical page loads without a redirect, is not noindex, and does not name yet another canonical.
The address
Clean and consistent
https throughout, one host with or without www, and no variant or tracking parameters in the canonical itself.
Shopify
Collection paths
Shopify serves every product under each collection too, at /collections/name/products/handle. Each of those should point back to /products/handle, and the checker tests one.
Reading the result
When a canonical should point somewhere else
Points to itself
Pages you want to rank
Product, collection and content pages should name themselves. It stops tracking links and filters from competing with them.
Points elsewhere
Copies and variants
A variant address, a print version or a page copied from another site should name the main version, so the signals collect in one place.
More than one language
Each language is its own page
A French version should name itself, not the English page. Check those versions with the Hreflang Checker.
Questions
About the Canonical Checker
What is a canonical tag?
A link in the page head, rel="canonical", that names the address search engines should index for that content. Stores need it because one product can be reached through many addresses: collection paths, variant parameters, tracking tags, sort orders and filters.
What does the Canonical Checker check?
That the page has exactly one canonical, that an HTTP header and the tag agree, whether it points to the page itself or elsewhere, that the canonical uses https and the same host, that it carries no variant or tracking parameters, and that the page it names loads directly, is not noindex and does not name a further canonical.
Should every page have a self-referencing canonical?
Every page you want to rank should name itself. It stops copies of the address with tracking tags or filters from competing with it. Duplicates, such as a variant address or a print version, should name the main page instead.
What happens if a page has two canonical tags?
Google ignores all of them and picks an address itself. It usually happens when a theme and an app, or two SEO plugins, both add one.
Does Shopify set canonical tags for me?
Yes. Shopify themes print a canonical on every page, and a product reached through a collection, at /collections/name/products/handle, names /products/handle as its canonical. The checker tests one of those collection paths so you can see it working on your store.
Can I use noindex and a canonical together?
Google advises against using noindex to canonicalise. A page that is noindex and also names another canonical sends mixed signals: keep the canonical and remove noindex, unless you want neither page indexed.
More free tools for online stores
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Fix it once. Keep it fixed.
These checks show you what is wrong today. RankX AI checks your store for you, fixes products with your approval, and shows whether ChatGPT and Google AI Mode recommend them.
- ShopifyAn app inside your Shopify admin
- WooCommerceThe RankX AI web app, connected to your WordPress site
- Other websitesThe RankX AI web app
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