If you’re running technical SEO audits using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog, you may have encountered a frustrating warning:
“Open Graph URL does not match canonical URL”
This issue commonly appears on paginated archive pages, category pages, and custom taxonomy pages when using the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress. While Yoast SEO is one of the most popular SEO plugins available, it has a specific behavior that can create misalignment between your canonical tags and Open Graph meta tags on paginated content.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain exactly what causes this issue, why it matters for your website’s SEO and social sharing performance, and provide the most efficient, proven solution to fix it permanently.
What Causes the Yoast SEO OG:URL Mismatch?
The Technical Explanation
Yoast SEO automatically generates Open Graph meta tags for social media sharing. For most pages, the plugin correctly sets the og:url property to match the canonical URL. However, on paginated pages (page 2, 3, 4, etc. of archives and categories), Yoast SEO exhibits unexpected behavior:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/category/news/page/2/">
<link rel="prev" href="https://example.com/category/news/">
<link rel="next" href="https://example.com/category/news/page/3/">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/category/news/">Notice the mismatch? The canonical tag correctly references page 2, but the og:url points to the main category page. This creates confusion for search engines and social media platforms.
Why This Issue Matters for SEO and Social Sharing
Impact on Search Engine Optimization
While this might seem like a minor technical detail, the canonical and Open Graph URL mismatch can have several negative effects:
- Mixed signals to search engines – When canonical tags and OG tags disagree, it creates conflicting signals about which URL represents the authoritative version of the content.
- Social sharing issues – When users share paginated content on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, the wrong URL may be shared, directing traffic to page 1 instead of the specific page they intended to share.
- SEO audit tool warnings – Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Screaming Frog will flag these mismatches as errors, which can obscure more critical issues in your audit reports.
- Potential indexing confusion – While Google is generally smart enough to handle this, the inconsistency can create unnecessary confusion during the crawling and indexing process.
The Optimized Solution: Fix OG:URL for Paginated Pages
Method 1: WordPress Filter Hook (Recommended)
The most elegant solution is to use a WordPress filter to modify Yoast SEO’s behavior. This method ensures the og:url matches the canonical URL on all paginated pages. We’ll use an optimized version that’s efficient and follows WordPress coding best practices.
Step 1: Access Your Theme’s Functions File
Navigate to Appearance > Theme File Editor in your WordPress dashboard, or use FTP/SFTP to access your theme’s functions.php file. If you’re using a child theme (recommended), add the code to your child theme’s functions.php file.
Step 2: Add the Optimized Filter Function
Add the following optimized code to your functions.php file:
/**
* Fix Yoast SEO og:url to match canonical on paginated pages
* @param string $og_url The Open Graph URL from Yoast SEO
* @return string Modified OG URL with pagination if applicable
*/
function fix_yoast_og_url_pagination( $og_url ) {
// Only modify if we're on a paginated query
$paged = (int) get_query_var( 'paged' );
if ( $paged > 1 ) {
// Ensure trailing slash and append pagination segment
$og_url = trailingslashit( $og_url ) . 'page/' . $paged . '/';
}
return $og_url;
}
add_filter( 'wpseo_opengraph_url', 'fix_yoast_og_url_pagination' );
This optimized code hooks into Yoast SEO’s wpseo_opengraph_url filter and efficiently checks if the current page is paginated. If it detects pagination (page 2 or higher), it appends the page number to the Open Graph URL before Yoast outputs the og:url tag.
Understanding the Optimized Code
This solution is optimized for both performance and readability. Here’s what makes it efficient:
$paged = (int) get_query_var(‘paged’) – Retrieves and immediately casts the page number to an integer.
if ( $paged > 1 ) – Simple, clean check that handles both non-paginated pages (returns 0) and page 1 automatically.
trailingslashit( $og_url ) . ‘page/’ . $paged . ‘/’ – Ensures a trailing slash on the base URL, then explicitly adds the pagination path with a trailing slash at the end.
wpseo_opengraph_url filter – The specific Yoast SEO filter hook that allows us to modify the og:url value before it’s output to the page. This filter is stable and won’t break with Yoast SEO updates.
Testing and Validation
Step 1: Clear Your Cache
After implementing the fix, clear all caching layers:
- WordPress cache (if using a caching plugin like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or WP Super Cache)
- Browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac)
- CDN cache (if using Cloudflare, Fastly, CloudFront, or similar)
- Server-side cache (if using Varnish or similar)
Step 2: Inspect the Page Source
Visit a paginated category or archive page (e.g., /category/news/page/2/) and view the page source (Ctrl+U or Cmd+Option+U). Look for the following tags in the <head> section:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/category/news/page/2/">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/category/news/page/2/">Both tags should now point to the same URL with the /page/2/ parameter included.
Step 3: Use SEO Testing Tools
Validate the fix using these tools:
Facebook Sharing Debugger (https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/) – Enter your paginated URL and verify the og:url matches the canonical.
Twitter Card Validator (https://cards-dev.twitter.com/validator) – Check how Twitter reads your Open Graph tags.
LinkedIn Post Inspector (https://www.linkedin.com/post-inspector/) – Verify LinkedIn correctly reads your Open Graph data.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Run a crawl and check the ‘Open Graph’ tab to verify canonical and og:url alignment across all paginated pages.
Ahrefs Site Audit – Re-run your audit after implementation to confirm the warnings have cleared.
Alternative Implementation Methods
Method 2: Using a Custom Plugin
If you prefer not to modify your theme’s functions.php file (which is a good practice to avoid losing code during theme updates), you can create a simple custom plugin:
Step 1: Create a new file called yoast-og-url-fix.php in the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
Step 2: Add the following code to the file:
<?php
/**
* Plugin Name: Yoast SEO OG URL Fix
* Description: Fixes og:url to match canonical on paginated pages
* Version: 1.0
* Author: Jonathan Albarran
*/
function fix_yoast_og_url_pagination( $og_url ) {
$paged = (int) get_query_var( 'paged' );
if ( $paged > 1 ) {
$og_url = trailingslashit( $og_url ) . 'page/' . $paged . '/';
}
return $og_url;
}
add_filter( 'wpseo_opengraph_url', 'fix_yoast_og_url_pagination' );Step 3: Activate the plugin from the WordPress Plugins page
This approach has several advantages: it survives theme updates, can be easily enabled or disabled without editing files, and keeps your theme clean. It’s the recommended approach for most users.
Method 3: For Custom Post Type Archives
If you’re experiencing this issue with custom post type archives, you may need a slightly enhanced version that checks for additional query variables:
function fix_yoast_og_url_pagination_cpt( $og_url ) {
// Check both 'paged' and 'page' query vars
$paged = max(
(int) get_query_var( 'paged' ),
(int) get_query_var( 'page' )
);
if ( $paged > 1 ) {
$og_url = trailingslashit( $og_url ) . 'page/' . $paged . '/';
}
return $og_url;
}
add_filter( 'wpseo_opengraph_url', 'fix_yoast_og_url_pagination_cpt' );This version uses max() to check both ‘paged’ and ‘page’ query variables, ensuring it works correctly with different pagination scenarios including static front pages and custom post type archives.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Issue 1: Changes Not Appearing
Symptoms: After adding the code, the og:url still doesn’t match the canonical tag.
Solution: Clear all caching layers thoroughly:
• Purge WordPress object cache and page cache
• Clear browser cache completely (or test in incognito/private mode)
• Purge CDN cache (Cloudflare, etc.)
• If using a caching plugin, temporarily disable it to verify the fix works
Issue 2: Trailing Slash Inconsistency
Symptoms: The og:url has different trailing slash behavior than the canonical tag.
Solution: The trailingslashit() function should handle this automatically. Verify your WordPress permalink settings (Settings > Permalinks) are configured correctly. If issues persist, check that your .htaccess file isn’t stripping trailing slashes.
Issue 3: PHP Syntax Error
Symptoms: White screen of death or syntax error message after adding the code.
Solution: Ensure you’ve copied the code exactly, including all apostrophes and semicolons. If you’re adding to functions.php, make sure you’re placing it inside the <?php ?> tags but not inside another function. Use a code editor with syntax highlighting to catch errors.
Issue 4: Filter Not Being Applied
Symptoms: Code is present but og:url remains unchanged.
Solution: Verify that Yoast SEO is active and updated to the latest version. Check that your function name doesn’t conflict with another function (if you get a ‘function already declared’ error, change the function name). Ensure the filter hook is spelled exactly: ‘wpseo_opengraph_url’
Issue 5: Works on Some Pages But Not Others
Symptoms: Fix works on category pages but not on tag pages or custom taxonomies.
Solution: The ‘paged’ query variable should work for all archive types. If you’re experiencing issues with specific post types or taxonomies, use the enhanced version (Method 3) that checks both ‘paged’ and ‘page’ query variables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Directly, no. This fix aligns your canonical and Open Graph tags to eliminate conflicting signals. While the mismatch itself is unlikely to cause ranking drops, fixing it improves your site’s technical SEO health and ensures social sharing works correctly, which can indirectly benefit your SEO through improved social signals.
No. The code specifically checks if the page number is greater than 1, so page 1 of your archives remains completely unchanged. Only pages 2, 3, 4, etc. are modified.
Yes, this particular behavior is specific to how Yoast SEO handles Open Graph tags on paginated pages. Other SEO plugins like Rank Math, All in One SEO, and SEOPress typically handle this differently and may not require this fix.
The fix uses WordPress’s stable filter API, which Yoast respects. Yoast SEO updates shouldn’t break it unless Yoast completely changes how they handle Open Graph URLs. If that happens, it likely means they’ve fixed the underlying issue themselves, making this code unnecessary.
Yes. For multisite networks, you have several options: (1) Add it to each site’s theme functions.php, (2) Create a network-activated plugin, or (3) Add it to a mu-plugin (must-use plugin) in /wp-content/mu-plugins/ to apply it network-wide.
This fix works with standard WordPress pagination. If you’re using custom AJAX pagination or infinite scroll that doesn’t change the URL, this fix won’t apply since those implementations don’t use the ‘paged’ query variable. However, for SEO purposes, you should ensure your pagination uses proper URLs anyway.
The plugin method (Method 2) is generally recommended because it survives theme updates and can be easily enabled/disabled. However, if you’re already using a child theme and comfortable with managing functions.php, either method works equally well.
Best Practices for Paginated Content SEO
While fixing the og:url issue is important, here are additional best practices for optimizing paginated content:
- Use rel=”prev” and rel=”next” tags correctly – These tags help search engines understand the relationship between paginated pages. Yoast SEO adds these automatically, which is excellent. Ensure they’re present and pointing to the correct URLs.
- Ensure each paginated page has unique content – Avoid having identical title tags and meta descriptions across all pages. Yoast automatically adds page numbers to titles (e.g., ‘Category Name – Page 2 of 5’), which helps differentiate pages.
- Don’t noindex paginated pages without good reason – Unless you have a specific SEO strategy, paginated archive pages should be indexed. They provide valuable navigation and can rank for relevant long-tail queries. Noindexing them can hide valuable content.
- Optimize page load speed for all pages – Paginated pages should load just as fast as page 1. Use lazy loading for images, implement caching, and optimize database queries to ensure good performance across all pagination levels.
- Consider implementing ‘View All’ pages strategically – For archives with only a few pages (under 50 items total), a ‘View All’ option can improve user experience. However, for large archives, stick with pagination to avoid performance issues.
- Monitor paginated pages in Google Search Console – Regularly check Search Console to ensure your paginated pages are being crawled, indexed, and performing well. Look for crawl errors or indexing issues specific to pagination.
- Use canonical tags correctly – Each paginated page should have a self-referencing canonical tag (page 2 canonical points to page 2, not to page 1). Yoast handles this correctly by default, and our fix ensures the og:url matches.
- Avoid duplicate content across pages – Ensure your pagination logic doesn’t accidentally show the same posts on multiple pages, which can happen with certain custom query configurations or when posts are added/removed frequently.
Performance Considerations
This solution is extremely lightweight and has minimal performance impact:
- Single function call: The code only runs once per page load when Yoast generates the og:url tag.
- No database queries: Uses get_query_var() which reads from WordPress’s already-parsed query, not the database.
- Efficient type casting: Casts the variable to integer once, avoiding redundant type checking.
- No impact on page 1: The function returns immediately for non-paginated pages, adding negligible overhead.
You can safely implement this fix on high-traffic websites without worrying about performance degradation.
The Open Graph URL and canonical tag mismatch on paginated pages is a common technical SEO issue that can be easily resolved with a simple, optimized WordPress filter. By implementing the solution provided in this guide, you ensure that your canonical tags and Open Graph tags are always in perfect alignment, eliminating confusing signals to search engines and fixing social sharing issues on paginated content.
The optimized code we’ve provided is:
- More efficient than alternative solutions
- Easy to understand and maintain
- Compatible with all WordPress themes and doesn’t interfere with Yoast SEO’s other functionality
- Survives plugin updates because it uses WordPress’s stable filter API
Whether you implement it as a custom plugin (recommended) or add it to your theme’s functions.php file, this fix will help maintain clean, consistent technical SEO across your WordPress site. The solution works for category pages, tag archives, date archives, author pages, custom taxonomies, and custom post type archives.
Remember to test thoroughly after implementation: clear all caches, inspect the page source on multiple paginated pages, and validate the fix using SEO audit tools and social media debuggers. Your technical SEO will be cleaner, your audit reports will show fewer warnings, and your social sharing will work exactly as intended.
Additional Resources
• Yoast SEO Official Documentation: https://yoast.com/help/
• Open Graph Protocol Official Specification: https://ogp.me/
• Facebook Sharing Debugger Tool: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/
• WordPress Plugin Filter Reference: https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/hooks/
• WordPress Coding Standards (PHP): https://developer.wordpress.org/coding-standards/wordpress-coding-standards/php/
• Ahrefs SEO Site Audit Tool: https://ahrefs.com/site-audit
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
