Hello everyone,I have a question about implementing a canonical tag on a page. Should I also include a no-index tag to help save crawl budget? The page being canonicalized has no value to the site. Thank you!
Adding a “noindex” tag to a canonicalized page that has no value to the site is generally a good practice to save crawl budget. By using the “noindex” tag, you are telling search engines not to index that specific page. This helps to ensure that search engines focus their crawling efforts on pages that are more valuable to your website.
Here’s why this is helpful:
- Saves Crawl Budget: Search engines have limited resources for crawling websites. Using “noindex” tags on pages with no value helps prioritize crawling of valuable pages.
- Reduces Index Bloat: A large number of irrelevant or low-value pages in your index can negatively impact search engine performance. By using “noindex” tags, you reduce the size of your index, making it more efficient.
- Improved User Experience: By directing search engines to valuable pages, you are more likely to present users with relevant and high-quality content.
However, it is important to consider the following:
- Proper Implementation: Ensure that the “noindex” tag is correctly implemented and placed within the
<head>section of your page’s HTML. - Impact on Internal Linking: Ensure that you have properly handled internal links to the canonicalized page. If you’re not careful, you could risk losing link equity from those links.
- Alternatives to Noindex: If the page does hold some value, consider using alternative methods to control indexing, such as using the “nofollow” attribute on links to that page.
Ultimately, the decision to use a “noindex” tag depends on the specific circumstances of your website and the page in question. If you’re unsure, it’s always best to consult with a search engine optimization (SEO) expert.