SEO for canonical URLs and localized versions of knowledge articles

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of SEO for canonical URLs and localized versions of knowledge articles

    This feature enhances the searchability of knowledge articles in ServiceNow by automatically adding canonical URLs and hreflang tags. These tags improve SEO by indicating the preferred URL for an article and specifying language-specific versions for translated content.

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    Key Features

    • Use SEO script option: Administrators can enable SEO tags by selecting the "Use SEO script" checkbox on the Knowledge Article View [kbarticleview] page record.
    • Canonical URLs: Once enabled, the system adds canonical URLs to knowledge article view pages to identify the primary URL for each article.
    • Hreflang tags: For translated articles, hreflang tags are added to specify alternate language versions, including a self-referencing tag for the article's current language.
    • Example URLs: Canonical URL format - https://<instancename>.servicenow-com/csp?id=kbarticleview&sysparmarticle=<articlenumber>
    • Self-referencing hreflang tag: Ensures the current language version of the article is identified, enhancing proper indexing by search engines.
    • Script includes: SEO tags are generated through specific script includes, primarily SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC for knowledge articles, which is read-only and extends base SEO scripts.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enable the "Use SEO script" option on knowledge article view pages to automatically manage SEO tags without manual coding.
    • Understand that canonical URLs prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred URL, improving search engine rankings.
    • Utilize hreflang tags to properly target regional or language-specific audiences, ensuring users see the correct localized version of an article.
    • Customize SEO behavior if needed by overriding provided script includes (SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleView) to tailor canonical URLs or hreflang tags according to organizational requirements.

    Next Steps

    • Review and enable the Use SEO script checkbox on your knowledge article view page records to activate SEO tagging.
    • Consider customizations by updating the SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleView script include if your implementation requires specialized SEO tags.
    • Monitor SEO performance and search engine indexing of knowledge articles to confirm effective implementation of canonical URLs and hreflang tags.

    Improve the searchability of knowledge articles by adding tags for canonical URLs and hreflang tags for translated knowledge articles.

    You can add the default tags for canonical URLs and hreflang tags by selecting the Use SEO script check box on the Knowledge Article View [kb_article_view] page record. For more information, see Enable SEO for canonical URLs and localized versions of a portal page.

    When the Use SEO script option is selected:

    • The canonical URLs for a knowledge article are added to the knowledge article view page.

      Example canonical URL: https://<instance name>.servicenow-com/csp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=<article number>

    • The hreflang tags for the translated versions of a knowledge article are added to the knowledge article view page.

      Example URL with an hreflang tag: <link rel=“alternate” href=“https://<instance name>.servicenow-com/csp/fr?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=<article number>” hreflang=“fr”/>

      Note:
      A self-referencing hreflang URL is also added for the language of current knowledge article.

      For example, an English knowledge article is viewed by visiting a URL with the following format:

      https://<instance name>.servicenow-com/csp/?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=<sys_id>

      In addition to the hreflang tags added for translations, the English language self-referencing hreflang tag is added:

      <link rel=“alternate” href=“https://<instance name>.servicenow-com/csp/?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=<sys_id>” hreflang=“en”/>

    Script includes for canonical URLs and hreflang tags

    By default, the knowledge article view page uses the SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC script include to add the SEO tags for canonical URLs and hreflang tags.

    The following table describes the script includes for adding canonical URLs and hreflang tags to Service Portal pages, including the knowledge article view page.
    Table 1. Script includes for canonical URLs and hreflang tags
    Script include Description
    SPSEOHeaderTagsSNC Includes the default implementation for the canonical URLs and hreflang tags for Service Portal pages.

    This script include is read-only.

    For more information, see Enable SEO for canonical URLs and localized versions of a portal page.
    SPSEOHeaderTags Facilitates overriding the default implementation in the SPSEOHeaderTagsSNC script include for Service Portal pages.

    The SPSEOHeaderTags script include extends the  SPSEOHeaderTagsSNC script include.
     SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC Overrides the generateHrefLangArray and generateCanonicalURL functions for the knowledge article view page configured in the SPSEOHeaderTags script include.

    The SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC script include is read-only and extends the   SPSEOHeaderTags script include.
    SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleView Facilitates overriding the default implementation in the SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC script include for the knowledge article view page.

    The SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleView extends the  SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleViewSNC script include.

    As an administrator, you can add canonical URLs, hreflang tags, and any custom headers for knowledge articles by updating the SPSEOHeaderTagsArticleView script include. For more information, see Configure custom SEO tags for canonical URLs and localized knowledge articles.