Self-Referencing Canonical

[sharminakter]

an illustration of canonical tag pointing from an alternate page to a preferred one
But it is also advantageous to use self-referencing canonicals.

In other words, each canonical page must have a canonical tag that points to its own URL.

Like this:

Google's John Mueller confirmed the importance of self-referencing canonical tags.

"It's not necessary to have a self-referencing canonical tag on a page, but it makes it easier for us to know exactly what URL you want to be chosen as canonical," he said during a Google Webmaster Central briefing.

Why Use Canonical Tags?
Canonical tags are a valuable deduplication tool, helping to cyprus phone data address issues with duplicate content (or near-identical pages) that you need to keep.

Here is an example:

US English and UK English versions of the same page
Parameterized URLs (e.g. listing pages with filters or sorting options)
Why avoid duplicate content?

Because it can lead to keyword cannibalization . This phenomenon occurs when multiple pages on a site compete for the same rankings, hurting their respective positioning.

By using canonical tags correctly, you help Google understand the structure of your site. And identify the best version of a duplicate page.

This helps ensure that the version you want is the one that appears in search results (and is accessed). This can lead to higher click-through rates, engagement, and conversions.

Additionally, Google consolidates the "ranking power" of alternate pages over canonical URLs.