How to Fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical tag on blogger on search console
Introduction
If you’re dealing with alternate page issues on Blogger, you’re not alone. Proper canonical tags are crucial for ensuring your pages are indexed correctly by search engines. I’ve faced these issues myself and have found effective ways to solve them. In this guide, I’ll explain what canonical tags are, why they’re important, and how to set them up on Blogger.
What Are Canonical Tags and Why Are They Important?
Canonical tags help search engines understand which version of a page is the main one when there are multiple URLs leading to the same content. For example, if you have a page that can be accessed in several ways, canonical tags tell search engines which URL should be treated as the primary one.
Without these tags, search engines might see different versions of the same content as separate pages, which can lead to indexing problems and dilute your page’s ranking. For better SEO and to avoid duplicate content issues, it's essential to use canonical tags properly.
How to Add Canonical Tags to Your Blogger Site
1. Adding Canonical Tags to Your Theme HTML
To ensure that all your pages have the correct canonical tags, follow these steps:
- Access Your Blogger Theme
- Go to your Blogger dashboard.
- Navigate to Theme.
- Click on Customize and then Edit HTML.
- Insert the Canonical Tag
Locate the
<head>section in your theme’s HTML. Add this code inside the<head>section:<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.trendloft.xyz<data:blog.canonicalUrl>m=1"/>Replace
<data:blog.canonicalUrl>with the Blogger expression that dynamically inserts the current page URL. - Save Your Changes
This step ensures that each page on your site includes a canonical tag that points to its correct mobile version.
2. Why You Need Canonical Tags on Every Blog Post
Even though you’ve added a canonical tag in the theme HTML, it’s essential to set a canonical tag for each individual blog post. This is because each post might have unique parameters or variations. For example:
- Blog Post URL:
https://www.trendloft.xyz/2024/09/sample-post.html - Canonical Tag:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.trendloft.xyz/2024/09/sample-post.html?m=1"/>
Steps to Add Canonical Tags to Individual Posts:
- Edit a Blog Post
- From your Blogger dashboard, go to Posts.
- Open the post you want to edit.
- Switch to HTML view.
- Insert the Canonical Tag
Add this code to the
<head>section of the post’s HTML:<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.trendloft.xyz/2024/09/sample-post.html?m=1"/>Ensure that each post has its own URL with the
?m=1parameter. - Save the Post
Each blog post needs its own canonical tag to ensure that search engines correctly index each piece of content.
Best Practices for Canonical Tags
- Always Include the Parameter: Ensure that your canonical tags include the
?m=1parameter for mobile versions. - Update Each Post: Regularly check and update canonical tags for individual blog posts.
- Use Google Search Console: After making updates, use the URL Inspection Tool to check if Google is indexing your pages correctly.
For more on blogger related issues, check out my blog on how to fix blogger redirect errors on search console here.
FAQs
?m=1 parameter affect canonical tags??m=1 parameter indicates the mobile version of a page. Including this parameter in your canonical tags ensures that search engines index the correct version of your page.?m=1 parameter, like this:<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.trendloft.xyz/2024/09/sample-post.html?m=1"/>?m=1 parameter and check if they are indexed correctly.