TLDR: If I want to add or change a canonical tag in WordPress, I can do it easily using Yoast SEO. I go to the Post, Page, Category, or Tag editor, open the Yoast SEO sidebar, navigate to Advanced settings, and enter the full canonical URL including http, https, www, or non-www. If needed, I can also filter the canonical output programmatically using the wpseo_canonical filter. If the canonical tag is not showing, I check whether the page has a noindex tag.
Now let’s go deeper and answer the real questions I see people asking on Google SERPs, People Also Ask, Reddit, Quora, and inside Search Console.
Why Would I Need to Change a Canonical URL in WordPress?
I often see questions like:
Why is Google indexing the wrong URL?
How do I fix duplicate content in WordPress?
Why is my canonical tag missing?
How do I point search engines to the original content URL?
As you know, canonical tags help search engines understand which version of a URL contains the original content. If I have similar content posts, duplicate pages, filtered categories, or parameter-based URLs, search engines can get confused.
That’s where the canonical URL becomes critical.
Yoast SEO automatically adds canonical URLs to my WordPress website. However, in some cases, I may want to manually adjust the canonical URL for SEO strategy reasons, content consolidation, or technical SEO fixes.
Let’s break it down step by step.
How I Change the Canonical URL Using Yoast SEO
Step 1: Log in to My WordPress Website
First, I log in and land in my WordPress dashboard.
From there, I go to the Post editor, Page editor, Category editor, or Tag editor depending on where I need to modify the canonical tag.
Step 2: Open the Yoast SEO Sidebar
Inside the editor, I locate the Yoast SEO sidebar.
I click on Advanced settings where I find the Canonical URL field.
This field allows me to manually enter the full canonical address. I make sure I include the complete structure such as:
http protocol or https protocol
www prefix or non-www URL
If I skip part of the full canonical address, the canonical URL may not function correctly.
Step 3: Publish, Save, or Republish
After entering the canonical URL, I click publish post, save post, or republish post.
Once I publish the revised post changes, the canonical output updates automatically.
At this point, search engines will see the updated canonical tag output when they crawl the page.
What If I Want to Filter the Canonical Output Programmatically?
If I have coding experience, I can control the canonical output programmatically.
Yoast SEO provides the wpseo_canonical filter.
Using this filter, I can modify or even disable canonical output. For example, if I return false in the function, no canonical will be output.
This is especially useful for developers handling complex SEO plugin configuration scenarios or advanced technical SEO setups.
However, I only recommend this if I fully understand WordPress hooks and filters.
Why Is My Canonical Tag Not Showing?
This is a common troubleshooting canonical URL issue I’ve seen in Search Console and SEO audits.
In some cases, I may not see a canonical tag output on a page.
The first thing I check is whether the page has a noindex tag.
Yoast SEO does not output a canonical tag if the page is marked as noindex.
To resolve this issue, I change the setting from noindex to index pages inside the SEO settings.
After saving, the canonical tag output should appear correctly.
If that still doesn’t solve the issue, I contact the support team for deeper troubleshooting.
How Canonical Tags Help My SEO Strategy
When I manage canonical URLs properly, I help search engines:
Understand the original content URL
Avoid indexing duplicate URLs
Consolidate ranking signals
Prevent keyword cannibalization
If I’m running a WordPress agency or managing client SEO campaigns, controlling canonical tags improves crawl efficiency and strengthens domain authority.
In addition, canonical tags help when:
I syndicate content
I use tracking parameters
I migrate URLs
I restructure categories
I manage similar content posts
Canonical implementation directly affects indexing behavior and ranking performance.
Video Explanation and Learning Resources
If I prefer visual learning, I can watch a video explanation that walks through the canonical URL field setup inside the Yoast SEO sidebar.
Combining written instructions and video walkthroughs helps reduce implementation errors.
What If the Issue Still Isn’t Fixed?
If the steps above don’t resolve the issue, I reach out to the support team for help.
Sometimes canonical issues are caused by theme conflicts, SEO plugin configuration overlaps, caching layers, or custom code interference.
Getting expert troubleshooting support ensures I don’t accidentally damage my SEO performance.
To Summarize
If I want to add or change a canonical tag in WordPress, I use Yoast SEO inside the Post, Page, Category, or Tag editor. I enter the full canonical URL including http, https, www, or non-www in the Canonical URL field under Advanced settings. I publish or save the changes to update the canonical output.
If needed, I can filter the canonical output programmatically using the wpseo_canonical filter. If the canonical tag is missing, I check for a noindex tag and switch it back to index pages.
Managing canonical tags properly protects my original content URL, strengthens my SEO strategy, and ensures search engines index the correct version of my content.
If you’re serious about technical SEO in WordPress, mastering canonical tags is not optional. It’s foundational.