Do non-canonical pages need to worry about things like Alt Text, H1 tags, etc?
-
Just wanted to confirm, if we have multiple similar pages, with all of their canonicals pointing towards the prime page, does it impact SEO rankings at all if the non-canonical pages were missing alt text from their images, or shared duplicate or multiple H1 tags? Basic SEO page construction stuff?
I know some will hurt user CTR but wanted to make sure that SEO crawlers don't care about them even if indexed.
-
Hi Simon
It is best practice to ensure that all Titles, Descriptions, H1, content and ALT tags are filled in correctly. The problem you may have (and I have experienced this with one of my clients recently - so it isn't theory!) is that Google may distrust the canonical if it sees that those two pages are not in fact similar.
The essence of the canonical is that both pages fulfil the same intent for the user. If that is not the case then they should be separate pages. If it is the case then it stands to reason that they are the same or markedly similar content. If you miss out any of the elements that there is a strong argument to treat them as two different pages.
If Google then re-indexes a canonicalised page then two 'similar' pages end up in search which will drop both pages!
So contrary to what Joseph says - it is actually very important to do this I hope that helps.
Kind Regards
Nigel
-
Hello Simon,
I'm guessing these pages are the landing pages for your PPC campaign because you don't care if they are being indexed. If that's the case I would:
- Add noindex meta tag to all the other similar page.
- Have all these other pages canonical to your prime landing page.
I think it doesn't matter anymore for the alt tag or other elements.
Hope this answered your question.
Regards,
Joseph Yap
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 -
How to position and structure H1 and H2 on a page
Quick Question: We have been working on a website for an hotel and we are now facing an issue regarding how to position the H1 and H2 on each page: Since the Client has expressed the desire to have the title of the page mentioned right above the textWould it make sense to have the title of the page as H1 and have more descriptive H2 right below it? Ex: H1--> Accommodation H2--> Page Description Thanks,
On-Page Optimization | | travelclickseo0 -
Should Title Tags Differ From H1's?
I never thought this was an issue, but now, I'm not so sure. Is it a problem for your title tags to be identical to your H1's? From Moz' OnPage Grader section on "H1's and Title Tags," I thought they were supposed to both match your keyword. Any thoughts? Thanks, Ruben
On-Page Optimization | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Should we add our company's name in page title tag or not?
We have been adding our company (Townscript) name in all the page titles. For example, in an event page of Lucknow Conclave: www.townscript.com/lucknowconclave the page title is Lucknow Conclave | Alexis Society | Townscript I read somewhere that it's not necessary to put your company's name in the title tag. Is it right? Please help!
On-Page Optimization | | sanchitmalik0 -
Choosing a title tag in seo (H1 or H2 or H3)
I look many times on google that what is the best tag to set in title for seo, H1 or H2 or H3 In many forums and sites they are asking that you need to put only H2 tag in title and someone ask to put H1 in title and i am confused, Some body tell me the correct tag for seo in google, or any other search engine.
On-Page Optimization | | seom20140 -
Sequence of heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc) important?
Meaning heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc) are a critical part of good on-page optimisation. Fair enough. It helps humans and bots make sense of a page's content. 3 questions regarding implementation of heading tags: Should heading tags appear in sequence in the HTML code. I.e. H1 first, then H2 lower down, etc.? Can the page contain more than one H1 tag? Can the page contain multiple H2, H3, H4 tags?
On-Page Optimization | | AndreVanKets1 -
Page title = h1, or slight variation of it?
I recently found a new SEO tool http://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/search-engine-optimisation/ It is fast, and has found some site tweaks I need to make. There is a free demo version that crawls up to 500 URIs. I recommend you check it out (I'm not affiliated). One of the conditions it checks for is if your page <title>is exactly equal to your <h1> tag. The fact that they flag it makes me wonder if that's something I should avoid (?).</p> <p>When I googled it I found a variety of opinions. When I looked at Rand's excellent piece on the perfectly optimized page http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization I notice that the example Page Title and H1 are slightly different. By design, or a happy coincidence?</p> <p>Any opinions on whether I should make my Page Titles slightly different than my H1 tags to avoid the appearance of over optimization, or some other penalty?</p></title>
On-Page Optimization | | scanlin0 -
H1 tags the same on all pages - problem?
I generally use wordpress as a CMS and have the H1 tag coded in the header.php include file. This results as it being the same in all page - I normally do something like Keyword - Company name and set the company logo as the background and move the text off screen using text indent (CSS). Is having the same on every page a bad thing? I might be tricky to change so their all unique.
On-Page Optimization | | JamesJacobs0
