This indicates that the URL in question includes a canonical element within the HTML body instead of within the <head> section.
Why is this important?
When a canonical is placed outside of the <head> section, search engines will disregard it, rendering the intended effect of the rel=canonical attribute ineffective.
What does the Optimization check?
This Optimization will be activated for any internal URL featuring a canonical element located outside the <head> segment of the HTML code.
Examples that trigger this Optimization:
Take for instance the URL: https://example.com/
The Optimization would be triggered if a page at this URL included a canonical link outside the <head>, such as:
<!doctype html><html lang="en"> <head> <title>example</title> ... </head> <body> ... <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/" /> ... </body></html>
The Optimization might also be triggered if there are invalid HTML elements disrupting the <head>, leading to an early start of the <body> and thus misplacement of the canonical tag.
How do you resolve this issue?
Given that this Optimization is labeled 'Critical', it signifies a major error that could severely affect organic search traffic. Resolution of Critical issues should be a top priority.
Often, the cause is a <head> section that has been corrupted. If Googlebot processes the HTML and moves the canonical tag to the body, investigate if any of these Optimizations are also triggered:
If addressing these issues doesn't fix the canonical problem, further investigation will be needed. It may suggest a configuration problem with the specific URL, possibly due to a template or plugin error. The canonical tag would then need to be repositioned within the <head>, which might require the help of a developer.