Canonical URL points to a redirecting URL: what it is, why it matters, and how to fix it

The canonical tag on this page points to a URL that returns a 3xx redirect rather than a 200 status. Search engines may ignore or misinterpret the canonical signal when the target redirects.

Google recommends that canonical URLs return a 200 status code. When a canonical points to a redirect, Google must resolve the chain to find the final destination, which introduces ambiguity. The canonical signal is weakened, and Google may choose a different URL as the canonical, potentially splitting ranking signals.

Update the canonical tag to point directly to the final destination URL that returns a 200 status code. Ensure the canonical target is the preferred, indexable version of the page.

This is a high-severity issue: it directly suppresses rankings or click-through on the pages it affects. It belongs in your current sprint, prioritised by how many pages carry it. It belongs to the crawlability family of checks.

Run a free Dr Urls audit: it crawls your site, detects canonical url points to a redirecting url on every affected page, shows example URLs, and generates a ready-to-use fix task. Re-scan after fixing to verify the issue is gone.