Free Canonical Tag Checker
Paste any page URL to see whether it has a canonical tag and which URL it points to.
Free · No signup · Checks one page
What this checks
Fetches the page (following redirects) and looks for a <link rel="canonical"> tag in its HTML. The page passes when a canonical tag is present, and we show you the URL it points to.
It's one of the 35 checks in the free AI Visibility Checker, which scores a page on everything AI engines look at.
Canonical Tag Checker FAQs
What is a canonical tag?
A canonical tag is a line in a page's <head> (<link rel="canonical" href="...">) that tells search engines and AI crawlers which URL is the preferred version of that page, so duplicate or near-duplicate URLs don't compete with each other.
Why does a canonical tag matter for SEO and AI search?
When the same content is reachable at several URLs (tracking parameters, trailing slashes, http and https), crawlers have to guess which one to rank and cite. A canonical tag removes the guesswork and consolidates signals on one URL.
Should a page's canonical point to itself?
Usually, yes. Most pages should carry a self-referencing canonical. Point it somewhere else only when the page is a duplicate of another URL you want to rank instead.
Does this checker follow redirects?
Yes. It follows redirects and checks the final page, the same way the full AI Visibility Checker does.