Canonical Points to Redirect

What This Means

The URL in the page's canonical tag returns a 3xx redirect rather than a 200 OK. The canonical is pointing to a URL that itself redirects to the final content — creating an indirect canonical chain.

Why It Matters for SEO

Google's canonical handling is more reliable when canonicals point directly to the final URL rather than through a redirect. A canonical that chains through a redirect is less clear as a signal and may not consolidate all ranking signals as effectively as a direct canonical to the final 200 URL.

What the Platform Checks

The platform follows each canonical href and checks the initial HTTP response code. Fires when the canonical target responds with a 3xx status (redirect) rather than 200.

How to Fix It

• Update the canonical href to point to the final destination URL — the URL that returns 200.
• Follow the redirect chain from the canonical target to find the final URL.
• Update the <link rel="canonical" href="..."> to use the final URL directly.
• Do not rely on the redirect to "fix" the canonical — always point canonicals to the final 200 URL.