How to fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag Status in Google Search Console. Google search console error fix. Blogger tips. Peak Fiction

'Alternative page has a suitable canonical tag' Error - How to Fix It

The "Alternative page with proper canonical tag" error in Google Search Console is not an error but a message. It occurs when Google detects that an alternative version of a page (e.g., mobile) has a canonical tag pointing back to the main version (e.g., desktop).

This message indicates that Google recognizes the association between versions of the page, helping understand how your site is structured and ensuring the correct version is indexed and shown in search results.

How to fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical error in Google Search Console - Peak Fiction

What is 'alternate page with appropriate canonical tag'?

It's a message informing site owners that Google has acknowledged the relationship between alternative versions of a page and determined the primary version. This helps in better structuring your site for indexing and search results.

How to Fix 'Alternate page has an appropriate canonical tag'

To resolve this message:

  1. Set up separate URLs for desktop and mobile devices to clearly indicate to search engines that the site is serving the same content on different URLs.
  2. Use annotations to communicate the relationship between desktop and mobile URLs:

Annotations for Blogspot Users

Paste the code above </head>

<link expr:href='data:blog.canonicalUrl' rel='canonical' />
<b:if cond='!data:view.isSearch'>
  <link expr:href='data:blog.canonicalUrl + "?m=1"' media='only screen and (max-width: 640px)' rel='alternate' />
  <link expr:href='data:blog.canonicalUrl + "?m=1"' media='handheld' rel='alternate' />
<b:else />
  <link expr:href='data:blog.canonicalUrl + "&amp;m=1"' media='only screen and (max-width: 640px)' rel='alternate' />
  <link expr:href='data:blog.canonicalUrl + "&amp;m=1"' media='handheld' rel='alternate' />
</b:if>

Explanation:

  • The <link> tag with the rel='canonical' attribute is maintained on both desktop and mobile.
  • The <link> tag with the rel='alternate' attribute and media='only screen and (max-width: 640px)' attribute on smartphones delivers the URL with the m=1 parameter.
  • The <link> tag with the rel='alternate' attribute and media='handheld' attribute notes that on feature phones and tablets deliver the URL with the m=1 parameter.

Conclusion

Setting up distinct URLs for desktop and mobile devices, along with proper annotations, helps search engines understand the relationship between your pages, ensuring they are processed appropriately. Avoid conflicting URLs in search results for different devices.