In blogging, SEO plays a key role in driving traffic and improving visibility. One important part of SEO is managing canonical links, which help search engines understand the preferred version of a webpage when duplicate content exists. Custom values for canonical links give you more flexibility and control over your SEO strategy, making it easier to manage canonical URLs across different blog elements.

Key Benefits

  • Custom Canonical Links for Blog Elements: Easily add and manage canonical links for categories, authors, individual blog posts, and even the blog home page. This level of customisation allows for a more tailored SEO approach, helping ensure that the right URLs are prioritised for search engines.
  • Dynamic URL Management: As blog posts, categories, or other elements are updated or added, the canonical URLs remain accurate without the need for constant manual updates. This simplifies the SEO process and ensures consistency across your content.
  • Improved SEO Flexibility: Content updates and changes won't disrupt your SEO configuration. This automation reduces redundancy, minimises the risk of SEO errors, and supports a more efficient and scalable SEO workflow.

How It Works

Setting up custom canonical links is straightforward. Follow the steps below to get started.

Navigate to Settings and click on the Custom Values tab. Create custom values for various attributes like categories, authors, or blog post titles.

Once done, copy the custom value key to your clipboard.

Next, head to the Blogs section in your account, then click the relevant blog site.

Click the 3 dot action menu associated with the blog site, then choose canonical links from the options presented.

Paste the custom value associated with each element in the relevant field, then click save to keep your changes.

Canonical Links for the Blog Home Page

Head to the home page by clicking the Edit Blog Site button on the top right section of the modal.

Access the Canonical links section by first navigating to the SEO Meta Data tab.

Expand the Links & Tags dropdown, then add the required custom values in the canonical links field.

Don't forget to save and publish your page once you've made the necessary adjustments!

Identify the blog post in the list, then click it to open its editor.

From here, click the Settings button on the upper right-hand section of the builder.

Paste the custom value of the relevant blog element, then save your changes.

The system will then automatically generate and apply the appropriate canonical URLs based on the custom values you've defined. This keeps your SEO settings accurate with minimal manual effort, so you can focus on creating content while the SEO is handled in the background.

Why This Feature Matters

Custom value support for canonical links not only helps avoid issues with duplicate content but also improves content indexing, leading to better search engine visibility. It gives you control over your SEO strategy while reducing the risk of errors or inconsistencies in canonical link management.

Managing canonical URLs is now simpler, more accurate, and less time-consuming. With custom values handling the heavy lifting, you can keep your content optimised for search engines while staying focused on creating great content.