Debug conflicting canonicalization signals across rel=canonical tags, redirects, and Search Console's own canonical determination

Steps

1. Fetch the raw HTTP response for the URL and note any 3xx redirect chain, since a redirect is itself a strong canonicalization signal that overrides an on-page rel=canonical at the origin URL
2. Inspect the rendered page's rel=canonical link tag (and any conflicting HTTP Link header) for self-referencing vs. cross-URL canonical declarations
3. Use the URL Inspection API/tool's 'Google-selected canonical' vs. 'User-declared canonical' fields to see whether Google agreed with your declared canonical
4. When Google's selected canonical differs from your declared one, check for duplicate/near-duplicate content, inconsistent internal linking, or hreflang/pagination signals that may be outweighing the tag
5. Cross-check sitemap inclusion — including a non-canonical URL in your sitemap sends a competing signal that a canonical tag alone may not overcome
6. Resolve conflicts by making the redirect, canonical tag, internal links, and sitemap entries all agree on the same target URL rather than fixing only one signal