How do I check if canonical tags are set up correctly across templates?

To check whether canonical tags are set up correctly across templates, use a mix of template inspection, crawl tools, and spot checks.

1) Check the template output

Inspect the page source on a few representative pages from each template type.

Look for:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/page-url/" />

Verify that:

• It appears in the <head>
• It’s present on all indexable pages
• The href is the preferred URL version
• There is only one canonical tag per page

2) Test multiple templates

If you have several templates (e.g. home, category, product, blog post, search results), check at least one page from each. Make sure each template generates the correct canonical pattern:

• Homepage → canonical points to homepage root
• Category pages → canonical points to the category URL
• Product/article pages → canonical points to the main URL for that content
• Paginated pages → canonical strategy is intentional and consistent
• Filtered/faceted pages → canonical should usually point to the main unfiltered page if that’s your SEO strategy

3) Use a crawler

Crawl the site with a tool like:

• Screaming Frog
• Sitebulb
• Ahrefs Site Audit
• Semrush Site Audit

Then review:

• Pages with missing canonicals
• Pages with multiple canonicals
• Canonicals pointing to non-200 URLs
• Canonicals that are self-referential vs. cross-referential
• Canonicals with mismatched protocol/domain/path

4) Compare canonical vs. final URL

Make sure the canonical URL:

• Uses the correct protocol (https)
• Uses the preferred host (www or non-www)
• Matches trailing slash policy
• Doesn’t include tracking parameters unless intended
• Doesn’t point to redirected URLs

5) Check for template-level mistakes

Common issues include:

• Hardcoded canonical URL reused across templates
• Canonical tag output in the body instead of head
• Duplicate canonicals from theme + plugin/module
• Canonical generated with wrong environment domain (staging/dev)
• Canonicals pointing to homepage on all pages by accident

6) Use Search Console

In Google Search Console:

• Inspect a URL
• Check Google’s selected canonical vs. user-declared canonical
• Look for patterns where Google chooses a different canonical than intended

7) Quick QA checklist

For each template, confirm:

• One canonical tag only
• Correct URL format
• Self-referential when appropriate
• No parameters, session IDs, or UTM tags
• Not blocked by robots/noindex unless intentional
• Points to a live, indexable page

If you want, I can give you:

1. a manual QA checklist,
2. a Screaming Frog workflow, or
3. a script to audit canonicals across all templates.