Steps to Enable Self-Referencing Canonical Tags on V2 Websites

For Existing Sites:

1. Authoring the Brand Path:

   • On the root page of the site (the page above the language-specific pages), navigate to the SEO Settings tab and fill in the Brand Path field.

2. Enabling the Self-Referencing Canonical Tag:

   • For Existing Pages: If an existing page requires a self-referencing canonical tag, navigate to the SEO Settings tab within the page properties and check the Enable Self-referencing canonical tag option.
   • For New Pages: New pages will have the Enable Self-referencing canonical tag checkbox selected by default.

3. Developer Configuration:

   • Ensure the site’s domain and path are correctly configured in the externalizer file.
     • If the site is already using an XML Sitemap, this configuration step is usually already completed.
     • If the self-referencing canonical tag is still not functioning after steps 1 and 2, this may indicate the externalizer configuration is incomplete. Authors should submit a ServiceNow ticket requesting the site to be updated to support self-referencing canonical tags on all relevant pages.

For New Sites:

1. Brand Path Configuration:

   • Developers must configure the Brand Path in the SEO Settings tab of the root page (the page above the language-specific pages) during the initial site build.

2. Externalizer File Setup:

   • Developer to configure the site’s domain and path within the externalizer file during the new site setup.

3. Self-Referencing Canonical Tag for Duplicate Pages:

   • Pages created as part of site duplication or replication processes will not have the Enable Self-referencing canonical tag checkbox pre-selected. Authors will need to manually enable this option within the page properties.