Hreflang
Hreflang tells Google which language version belongs to which visitor. Without it your own pages compete with each other.
Read more →What is a canonical URL?
A canonical points out which address is the real one when the same page is reachable through several.
What it is
The same page is often reachable through more than one address: with and without www, with and without a trailing slash, with a filter or a tracking code appended. To a visitor those are the same; to a search engine they are different addresses with identical content.
The canonical is a line in the page head saying: of all those addresses, this is the official one. Everything a search engine has learned about the other variants then counts towards that one.
Why it might matter to you
- Without one your own page splits its strength across several addresses and none ranks as well as the whole could.
- On webshops it is nearly indispensable, because filters and sort options create endless variants of the same product list.
- A canonical pointing at the wrong page is more harmful than none: you are actively telling Google your page does not matter.
- Every page should reference itself, even when there are no variants.
How we handle it
Every page here carries a canonical to its own full address, generated from the same source as the sitemap and the hreflang. The audit compares all three against each other and raises an alarm if one differs, because a canonical quietly pointing at the wrong address is exactly the kind of fault that goes unnoticed for months.
Related terms
Sitemap
A sitemap is the list of every page you want indexed. Why it exists and why it is so often wrong.
Read more →SEO
SEO is making sure people find you when they search for what you do. What it covers, what it costs and how long it takes.
Read more →Not sure which way to go?
Send a short brief with what you have now and what needs to be better. You get an honest answer, including if that answer is that you do not need us for it.