Canonical Tag Points to a Noindex Page
A page canonical tag points to a URL that has a noindex directive. This creates a contradiction: the page defers to a canonical that search engines are told not to index, effectively removing both pages from the index.
Use this article when
- You need deeper remediation guidance than the issue card can show.
- You want CMS-specific steps before handing the fix to a developer.
- You want a repeatable re-check path after shipping the change.
What this issue is
A page canonical tag points to a URL that has a noindex directive. This creates a contradiction: the page defers to a canonical that search engines are told not to index, effectively removing both pages from the index.
Why it matters
A page canonical tag points to a URL that has a noindex directive. This creates a contradiction: the page defers to a canonical that search engines are told not to index, effectively removing both pages from the index. This affects how clearly search engines understand the page and how persuasive it looks in search results.
How we detect it
- FreeSiteAudit flags this issue when the rule for CRAWL-CANONICAL-NOINDEX-001 fails and the page evidence points to Nav crawl.
- You can usually confirm this by checking the page source or the relevant page settings inside your CMS.
Evidence examples
How to fix it
- 1Remove the noindex directive from the canonical target page
- 2Or change the canonical tag to point to an indexable page
- 3Audit pages with both canonical and noindex to resolve the conflict
How to re-check it
- Confirm the canonical target URL does not have a noindex directive
Related tools
This issue is best verified with the full FreeSiteAudit crawl rather than a single-point mini tool.