Should every page have a self-referencing canonical?

Yes, in most cases. A self-referencing canonical clarifies the preferred URL and reduces duplicate content issues caused by parameters or alternate paths.

Can I use relative canonical URLs?

It's safer to use absolute canonicals (full https://domain/path). Absolute URLs avoid ambiguity and reduce implementation mistakes.

What about trailing slashes?

Choose one format (with or without trailing slash), enforce it with redirects, and ensure canonicals match the chosen format consistently.

Do canonical tags remove pages from Google?

Not exactly. Canonicals are a strong hint about which URL to index and rank. If you need to exclude a page entirely, use noindex instead.

Should I strip tracking parameters from canonicals?

Yes. Tracking parameters like utm_source create duplicate URLs. Strip them from canonicals to consolidate ranking signals to one clean URL.

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Canonical URL

Need a canonical tag? Generate <link rel="canonical">

Page URL

The URL that should be the canonical (preferred) version of this page.

URL Normalization

Protocol

WWW Prefix

Trailing Slash

Strip query parameters

Remove ?utm_source, ?ref, and other tracking parameters.

Parameters to keep (optional)

Example: keep page for pagination but strip tracking params.

Best practices

Use absolute URLs (full https://domain/path)
Each page should have exactly one canonical tag
Self-referencing canonicals are fine and recommended
Make sure the canonical URL returns 200 (not redirect or error)