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"Alternate page with proper canonical tag": what it means and how to fix it

The page says another page is the main one, and Google agrees.

Often fine

What it means

This page names another page as the main version, and Google follows that. Google shows the main page instead of this one.

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Common causes

  • The page is a second version, such as an address with tracking codes or a mobile version.

How to fix it

  • Nothing to fix if the page is a second version.
  • If the page should be on Google by itself, change its canonical tag to point to itself.
  • Take second versions out of your sitemap. A sitemap should list only main pages.

When you can ignore it

The page is a second version of another page.

How to find these pages

In Search Console, open Indexing > Pages and click the "Alternate page with proper canonical tag" row. Search Console shows up to 1,000 example pages. CrawlCoach checks up to 50,000 pages per site and sorts them by reason, so you know which pages to fix first.

Which of your pages have this problem?

Sign in with Google. CrawlCoach checks up to 500 pages for free and shows the fix for each problem.

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