Technical check group

Canonicals checks

Include a canonical link in your HTML to improve link and ranking signals for content. The catalogue currently contains 9 checks in this group.

Operating ledgerEXAMPLE / TRACE

Example evidence, review, and verification states
State	Evidence	Owner
Observed	CanonicalsPage-level source retained	Audit
Reviewed	Decision recordedScope and value inspected	Human
Verified	Public response readOutcome has separate proof	System

Synthetic product illustration. It demonstrates state meaning and does not represent a customer result.

Rule catalogue

Review each condition before turning it into work.

Include a canonical link in your HTML to improve link and ranking signals for content.

While self-referencing canonicals are valid, ensure they are intentional.

This page has a canonical pointing elsewhere. Ensure this is intentional.

Cross-domain canonicals should only be used for syndicated content or deliberate consolidation.

Pages should have only one canonical tag. Multiple canonicals confuse search engines.

Canonical tags should only use rel="canonical" and href attributes. Remove invalid attributes.

Canonical URLs should not contain fragments (#). Remove the fragment from the canonical URL.

Canonical tags must be placed within the <head> section to be recognized by search engines.

The canonical URL is not linked from anywhere on the site. Ensure canonical URLs are accessible.