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Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag Status - Meaning and How to Fix It

You may have seen the status “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” in Google Search Console and wondered what it means. While it may sound a bit technical, it’s actually a helpful indicator of how Google handles duplicate pages on your site. Understanding what it means can help you fine-tune your SEO strategy and improve your site’s performance.

What Does “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” Mean?

This status appears in Google Search Console when multiple versions of a page exist on your site, and a canonical tag is used to indicate the preferred version for indexing. Essentially, Google recognizes the canonical relationship and excludes the alternate pages from its index, focusing instead on the canonical page.

This is not an error in itself. In fact, it means that Google is interpreting your canonical tags correctly.

However, a regular review of these pages is essential to ensure that canonicalization is in line with your SEO strategy and helps to prevent “Duplicate without User-Selected Canonical” issues.

Before jumping into the solution, let’s first understand what canonical tags are and why they are important.

What Are Canonical Tags and Why Are They Important?

Canonical tags are snippets of HTML code that help search engines identify the primary version of a web page when there are multiple pages with similar or identical content. By indicating which page is the “canonical” version, you are telling search engines what to index and rank in search results.

Here’s what canonical tags do and why they are important:

1. Tell Search Engines the Preferred Page: If you have duplicate or near-duplicate content across URLs, the canonical tag points to the page you want to prioritize.
2. Prevent Dilution of Ranking Signals: When multiple URLs share similar content, search engines might distribute ranking signals across them. A canonical tag consolidates these signals to the main page.
3. Preventing Duplicate Content Issues: They help consolidate ranking signals for pages with similar or duplicate content.
4. Improve SEO Clarity: Canonical tags reduce confusion for search engines, ensuring they index the most relevant page.
5. Improve Crawl Efficiency: By directing bots to the preferred page, they can focus on crawling valuable content instead of duplicates.

For example, if your website has:

• example.com/page1
• example.com/page1?ref=abc

You can use a canonical tag on page1?ref=abc to indicate example.com/page1 as the primary version:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/page1" />

Canonical tags are especially useful for e-commerce sites with filtering or sorting options, blogs with tagged archives, and any site with dynamic URL structures.

You can easily find the canonical version of a page by using the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console.

When Should You Investigate This Status?

Although the “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” status often indicates proper setup, you still should:

1. Verify the Canonical URLs: Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to confirm the chosen canonical URLs align with your intentions and plan fixes if needed.
2. Evaluate Indexing Needs: Review whether any excluded pages should be indexed for strategic purposes.
3. Check for Errors: Ensure canonical tags are implemented correctly and consistently.

Steps to Fix “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” Issues

1. Review the list of Affected Pages: Navigate to the Pages section in Google Search Console, and click on the “Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag” status under “Why pages are not indexed.”

2. Confirm Intentional Exclusion: Determine whether the pages excluded by Google should remain as alternates or if they should be indexed as canonical versions. Update canonical tags if necessary.

3. Use Self-Referencing Canonicals: For pages you want indexed, ensure they include a self-referencing canonical tag in their HTML.

4. Optimize Crawl Budget: If your website has a large number of alternate pages, consider blocking unnecessary duplicates using a robots.txt file to conserve crawl budget. However, do not block pages before Google identifies their canonical relationship.

5. Implement 301 Redirects: If certain pages are no longer relevant, set up 301 redirects to the canonical page instead of relying solely on canonical tags.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Missing or Misconfigured Tags: Ensure canonical tags point to the intended page and do not create a loop or conflict.
• Blocking Canonicalized Pages Too Soon: Always let Google crawl the alternate pages at least once to recognize the canonical relationship.
• Neglecting Internal Links: Update internal links to point to canonical pages, reducing reliance on canonical tags alone.

Wrapping Up

The status “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” in Google Search Console usually indicates that your canonicalization strategy is working as intended. However, regular monitoring and tweaking is crucial to ensure that it aligns with your SEO goals. By addressing any discrepancies and implementing best practices, you can prevent potential traffic loss and improve your site’s overall performance.