Canoncial tag for homepage?
-
I have a site that gets most of it's traffic from one keyword combination, but I've noticed lately that instead of sending people to the homepage, it's sending people to an internal page.
This isn't a problem, except for the fact that all the best link juice and domain authority has been directed at the homepage.
There's not a lot of content on the homepage, so is it worth setting up a canonical tag on the homepage for this internal page to ensure that the page authority/link juice helps to boost this page that is already being indexed for the keyword?
-
Yeah I'd say that Google is just preferring the internal page over the homepage... the content is more relevant, the keyword is in the url, etc.
-
Yeah the internal page has the keyword in the url - and it actually has more relevant content. So perhaps it's ok that that page is being ranked, it's just a shame that the homepage has the better page rank, so we're not getting as strong of a ranking as I think we would if the homepage were getting more of the internal links.
Is it a good idea to point internal links from other pages to the homepage instead, when the internal page really has the most relevant content just to try to get a better ranking? I'd say no, right?
-
Yeah, I tend to agree with Michael. Make sure this isn't an issue with your home-page. Google does seem to be preferring more targeted pages these days, though, and it can happen for a lot of reasons. This is an older post by Rand, but it's still very relevant:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/wrong-page-ranking-in-the-results-6-common-causes-5-solutions
-
Oh, I think you're asking for trouble if you do that.
Unless your home page is really badly targeted for that keyword, or the internal page has the keyword in the URL and your domain doesn't, or somehow you've built a ton of links to the internal page and NOT the homepage, this is really suspicious, and makes me think that Google might be levying a penalty against your home page.
If that's the case, the canonical tag runs the risk of transferring the penalty
First off, install Chartelligence in your Chrome browser, and then take a look at your Google Analytics to see when the traffic dropped for your home page, and from that, if that lines up with a particular iteration of Panda or Penguin.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Is This a Misuse of Structured Data (JSON Recipe Tag on Collection Pages)?
I've noticed that many food blogs use the "recipe" tag to rank collection pages in carousels. For example, for the search term "Zucchini Recipe," Gaumenfreundin is in the first position in the carousel with a page that contains multiple recipes. This makes sense if the user intent is plural (e.g., "recipes") - but in the singular? According to Google's guidelines, the recipe tag is intended for individual recipes. Google even states that it is a misuse if only the ingredients are listed without the steps. So, isn't it against the guidelines to tag a collection page (even additionally) with the recipe tag? This practice is already common in the US market. Is Google aware of this and possibly tolerating it because it sometimes makes sense to present multiple recipes to the user? For example, "Zucchini Recipe" - the user might not yet know exactly what they want to cook with zucchini. Or do you think Google will take action against this practice in the future?
On-Page Optimization | | chueneke0 -
Missing canonical tag error - office pages
Moz is throwing an error for our office pages (10 office pages in the format /office/location-1; /office/location-2 etc) but the content is different. How should we handle the canonical tag? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | AztekMedia0 -
Duplicate content with tagging and categories
Hello, Moz is showing that a site has duplicate content - which appears to be because of tags and categories. It is a relatively new site, with only a few blog publications so far. This means that the same articles are displayed under a number of different tags and categories... Is this something I should worry about, or just wait until I have more content? The 'tag' and 'category' pages are not really pages I would expect or aim for anyone to find in google results anyway. Would be glad to here any advice / opinions on this Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | wearehappymedia1 -
Meta tags
What is the best way to create unique meta tags for pages like http://www.gobol.in/brands/a http://www.gobol.in/brands/b http://www.gobol.in/brands/c http://www.gobol.in/brands/d
On-Page Optimization | | Obbserv0 -
Title Tag: Phrases vs. Keywords Separated by "|"
Hello, One of my client's old sites has all category titles of the form (for example) running shoes | running shoe | walking shoes | walking shoe including many that perform well with over 60 characters. I'm in the process of rewriting the titles into something like Running and Walking Shoes, A quality shoe at OurShoes.com The reason I'm rewriting them is for future google penalties, and to look better to possible guest post opportunities. Also to look better in the SERPS But the old style is performing very well. What are the real pros and cons of each? Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | BobGW0 -
Different Title and Meta Title Tag
Do the search engines rank based on the meta title tag or the title tag? What if you have a different meta title tag from the title tag? Edited: I have edited to clarify my issue. Having a different meta title tag from the title tag. Thank you for those who have answered the question so far.
On-Page Optimization | | rching0 -
Am I cannabalizing my title tags or is there a better way?
I've read some info about title tags and meta, and I'm getting a little confused. If there is a previous discussion that I've missed, please redirect me. thank you. So I have a locksmith and one of his pages is on Auto Locksmith. For every car, I have a page. i.e Acura, Audi, BMW etc. Here is my title tag: Acura Car Keys| Ignition Switch Repair| Key Duplication BMW Car Keys| Ignition Switch Repair| Key Duplication Same for the rest of the different car models on the site. I previously asked a question on here about "What is Cannibalization", and after reading the answer, as well as a full article about it, I think I may be potentially cannibalizing my site with these title tags, though my SEO Moz has not indicated that I am. Should my title tags be instead... Acura car keys| Acura Ignition Switch Repair| Acura Key Duplication for each vehicle page? Additionally, all the Meta Descriptions on each vehicle page read the same as well. Is this correct? We duplicate Acura car keys, repair ignition switches, extract broken keys, replace remotes, reprogram transponder keys and provide emergency locksmith srvc. Lastly, this is for a city, yet I have not placed the city modifier in my tags nor content. Somehow it knows what city I'm in because some of my pages are ranking on Page 1, however other pages are ranking like #188, #257...So I'm just confused. Thanks for any help you can provide. Jaye
On-Page Optimization | | jayestovall0 -
How to handle Meta Tags on Pagination... page 2,3,4....
Seems that SEOMoz reports are considering my paginated pages as duplicate Meta Tags. For example, I have a product catalog with 5 paginated pages. Obviously the content on each page is unique and the URL ends in =4, =5 for the page number, but the Title and Description are the same for all the pages. Any suggestions on how to handle this? The pages other than page 1 are not indexed, so it should not be a big deal. But wondering if I should programatically ad the page number to the additional pages to show a difference?
On-Page Optimization | | paddlej0