Canonical - unexpected page ranking

[Substance-create]

We are getting good ranking for an unexpected page, rathewr than the one we were trying to get ranking for.

Should we put a canonical on the 'unexpected page' to the page we would like to receive the ranking for - or do we risk losing the ranking?

Any suggestions welcomed.

Ian

[Martijn_Scheijbeler]

Hi Ian,

Pointing the canonical tag to the right URL that you want to rank won't work like you're hoping for and is not what the canonical tag is at the end meant to do. What I would focus on is optimizing the page that you want to rank, for a start you likely should look into adding a link from the current ranking page to the one that you want to start ranking, if you haven't already done that. At the end that's going to help you with both ranks the right page, but also might help the second page to be visible in the top 10 so you take multiple spots for an increased share of voice.

Martijn.

[effectdigital]

Full support for this answer

[Substance-create]

Thanks Martin, looked at Moz's guide on Canonicals. Have a much clearer view of them now. Thanks for the feedback we will work on the pages we want to rank and monitor them.

Ian