Trakis

Trakis · Rules

Relative canonical

Canonicals written as relative addresses (/page instead of https://site/page). Relative canonicals are resolved against whatever address the page was reached on, so on a duplicate host they point at the duplicate. Absolute addresses remove the doubt.

NoticeINDEX-005 · Indexation · checked on every page

Where it usually comes from

Hand-written templates that print the path instead of the full address, often to make the site work on several domains at once.

How to fix it

  • Write the canonical as a full address, with https:// and the host you want indexed: <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/shoes">.
  • Set it in the template from the page’s own address, not from the address it was requested on, so a duplicate host cannot leak into it.
  • Check that the address it names answers 200 and is not itself redirected.

How to check it yourself

View the page source and check that the canonical begins with https:// and your domain.

What it looks like in a report

Notice The canonical is relative. · evidence: /shoes

It works on the right host and points at the wrong one on any copy; writing the full address closes that gap. (An example shop; the numbers are illustrative.)

How the audit counts it

INDEX-005 is a notice in the indexation category, and weighs lightly in that category’s score. When it appears on many pages built from the same template, the report shows it once, with the number of pages it covers — because one change in the template fixes all of them.

If the finding is deliberate on your site, it can be accepted as intentional in the report. It then leaves the list and the score, and comes back on its own if what it shows changes.

Other indexation checks

Find it on your site

A Trakis audit runs this check and the other 65 on your site, and tells you on how many pages each one sits. Or go back to all the rules.