rel=canonical outside <head>

What is wrong

Your pages contain `rel=canonical` tags in places Google does not look for them. The canonical tag tells Google which version of a page is the main one when you have duplicates. Google only reads these tags when they appear in the `<head>` section of your HTML—the invisible part at the top of your page code. If the tag is anywhere else, Google ignores it entirely.

Why it costs you

When Google cannot find a proper canonical tag where it expects one, it has to guess which version of your page is most important. It may index duplicate pages separately, or pick the wrong version as the main one. This splits your link authority across multiple URLs and confuses search results, so visitors may see the wrong page or not find you at all.

How to fix it

Move every `rel=canonical` tag into the `<head>` section of your page. If you use a template system for your pages, edit the template file rather than individual pages—this fixes all pages at once. The tag should sit between the opening `<head>` tag and the closing `</head>` tag, ideally near other meta tags like description and viewport.