🔗 Bulk Canonical Checker

Audit canonical tags for up to 200 URLs at once — detect missing, mismatched, chained & self-referencing canonicals instantly.

All pages are fetched via CORS proxies. Results depend on proxy availability.
Paste URLs — one per line (max 200)

What Is a Canonical Tag and Why Does It Matter for SEO?

What Is a Canonical Tag?

A canonical tag (<link rel="canonical" href="…">) is an HTML element placed in the <head> of a web page. It tells search engines — including Google, Bing, and AI search engines — which URL is the preferred, authoritative version of a page.

Canonical tags are essential when the same content is accessible at multiple URLs, for example with and without trailing slashes, via HTTP and HTTPS, or with UTM tracking parameters appended.

The Five Canonical Statuses

StatusMeaning
✅ Self-RefCanonical points to itself — correct and ideal.
❌ MissingNo canonical tag found on the page.
⚠️ MismatchCanonical points to a different URL.
🔗 ChainedCanonical destination also redirects further.
🔴 ErrorPage could not be fetched or parsed.

Why Bulk Checking Matters

Manually checking canonical tags is impractical for sites with more than a handful of pages. A bulk canonical checker lets SEO teams:

  • Audit entire site sections in one pass
  • Catch misconfigurations before a site migration
  • Ensure pagination and faceted navigation pages point to the correct canonical
  • Identify duplicate content risks before they affect rankings
  • Export reports for developers or clients

How to Use the Bulk Canonical Checker

1
Paste Your URLs

Enter up to 200 URLs into the text area, one URL per line. You can paste from a spreadsheet, a Screaming Frog export, or a sitemap. The tool automatically prepends https:// if no protocol is specified.

2
Choose Concurrency & Deduplication

Select 2, 3, or 5 simultaneous requests. Enable "Deduplicate" to skip any repeated URLs automatically before checking.

3
Run the Check

Click Check Canonicals. The tool fetches each page via CORS proxies and extracts the <link rel="canonical"> element from the HTML. Results appear in the Live Feed tab in real time as each URL completes.

4
Review & Filter Results

Use the Results tab to see every URL's canonical tag and status. Click the stat boxes at the top to filter by status type, or use the search bar to find specific URLs.

5
Export Your Audit

Download the full audit as a CSV or JSON file, export only the Issues CSV for your developer, or use the Summary tab to view the Canonical Health Score for the batch.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a canonical tag?
A canonical tag is an HTML element — <link rel="canonical" href="…"> — placed in the <head> of a page. It tells search engines which URL is the preferred, authoritative version when the same content is accessible at multiple URLs. Canonical tags prevent duplicate content penalties and consolidate link equity to the correct page.
What does a self-referencing canonical mean?
A self-referencing canonical is when the canonical tag on a page points to that same page's own URL. This is the correct and ideal state — it clearly signals to search engines that this URL is the master version. Every page that is the definitive source for its content should have a self-referencing canonical tag.
What is a missing canonical tag and why is it a problem?
A missing canonical tag means the page has no <link rel="canonical"> element at all. Without it, search engines must guess which URL to treat as canonical — often resulting in duplicate content issues, diluted link equity, and unpredictable indexing. Every public-facing page should explicitly declare a canonical tag.
What is a canonical mismatch?
A canonical mismatch occurs when the canonical tag on a page points to a different URL. This may be intentional — for example, a paginated page canonicalising to the first page — but it frequently happens accidentally during CMS updates or template changes. Mismatched canonicals should always be audited to confirm they are deliberate.
What is a chained canonical?
A chained canonical occurs when Page A canonicalises to Page B, but Page B has a canonical tag pointing to Page C. Search engines may not follow canonical chains reliably. Google recommends ensuring that the final canonical destination self-references — breaking the chain at source.
How many URLs can I check at once?
The TechOreo Bulk Canonical Checker supports up to 200 URLs per batch. If you paste more than 200 URLs, the tool automatically trims to the first 200 and shows a notification. For audits larger than 200 pages, run multiple batches.
Why might a canonical check return an error?
A canonical check returns an error when the page cannot be fetched. Common causes include: the page is behind a login or paywall, the server blocks automated requests (e.g. via robots.txt or rate limiting), the URL returns a non-200 HTTP status code, or the CORS proxy is temporarily unavailable for that domain.
Can I export the canonical audit results?
Yes. You can download the full results as a CSV or JSON file. There is also a dedicated Issues CSV that contains only pages with problems (Missing, Mismatch, Chained, or Error), and a Copy Missing button that copies all URLs with no canonical tag directly to your clipboard.
Does the tool support HTTP and HTTPS URLs?
Yes. The Bulk Canonical Checker accepts both HTTP and HTTPS URLs. If you paste a URL without a protocol — for example example.com/page — the tool automatically prepends https:// before checking.
Should every page have a canonical tag?
Yes, as a best practice every public-facing HTML page should include a canonical tag. For the primary version of a page, it should be a self-referencing canonical. For pages that are duplicates, paginated sequences, or print versions, the canonical should point to the original or first-page URL. Google's own documentation recommends explicitly declaring canonicals rather than leaving it to the search engine to guess.