What Is Pagination in SEO?
Pagination is when content is divided
across multiple pages:
●
Blog archives: /blog/page/2/
●
Category pages: /products?page=3
● Forums or comments: /topic/123?page=5
★
Done poorly, it leads to indexing issues, duplicate content, poor
crawlability, and bad UX.
★
Done right, it boosts SEO,
improves navigation, and retains ranking signals.
Complete Pagination SEO Best
Practices Checklist (With Detailed Explanations)
1. Avoid Orphaning Content
with Infinite Scroll or Load More Buttons
Why It Matters:
JavaScript-based pagination like “Load
More” or “Infinite Scroll” often hides
content from crawlers, leading to poor indexing.
What To Do:
●
Use <a href> links with real URLs for paginated pages.
●
Ensure content loads on page load, not just on scroll.
●
If you use infinite scroll, combine it with crawlable pagination or
server-rendered content.
Example:
Bad:
js
<button onclick="loadMore()">Load More Posts</button>
Good:
html
<a href="/blog/page/2/">Next Page</a>
Also implement proper JavaScript fallback
with SSR (Server-Side Rendering).
2. Use Proper URL Structures
for Pagination
Why It Matters:
Search engines need to understand that
paginated URLs are part of the same
series, not duplicate content.
Best Practices:
●
Use clean URLs, e.g.:
/category/page/2/, not /category?=page2&id=32813
●
Keep page 1 as the canonical
(don’t use /page/1/)
Example:
bash
Correct:
example.com/shoes
example.com/shoes/page/2
example.com/shoes/page/3
Avoid
using:
sql
example.com/shoes?page=2&filter=none&sort=desc
3. Use Self-Referencing
Canonical Tags on Paginated Pages
Why It Matters:
Canonical tags tell Google which version
of a page is the “main” one. If every paginated page canonicals to page 1, Google may ignore the rest.
What To Do:
●
Each page in the series should
have a self-referencing canonical tag.
Example:
html
<!-- On page 2 -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/page/2" />
Not:
html
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/" />
★
Canonicalizing all pages to page 1
causes ranking dilution.
4. Use rel="prev" and rel="next" Tags
(Deprecated but Still Useful for UX)
Why It Matters:
These tags used to tell Google about
pagination order. While Google no longer uses them for indexing, they can still
help user agents, screen readers, and
accessibility tools.
What To Do:
Add these tags in the <head> of each page:
html
<!-- On page 2 -->
<link rel="prev" href="https://example.com/blog/page/1" />
<link rel="next" href="https://example.com/blog/page/3" />
On the first page, omit rel="prev"; on the last, omit rel="next".
Good for usability even if not used directly by Google anymore.
5. Ensure All Paginated Pages
Are Crawlable and Indexed (If Valuable)
Why It Matters:
Many sites mistakenly block paginated
pages in robots.txt or set noindex tags — which hides valuable
content.
What To Do:
●
Do not disallow paginated URLs in robots.txt
●
Ensure paginated pages have indexable meta tags:
html
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
Only use noindex
if the content is thin or duplicate.
Test With:
●
Google Search Console (Coverage
reports)
●
site:yourdomain.com/page/2
→ See if it’s indexed
6. Avoid Duplicate Titles and
Meta Descriptions on Paginated Pages
Why It Matters:
When every page in a series has the same <title> and <meta
description>, search engines may see them as duplicates.
What To Do:
●
Append page numbers to <title> and meta:
html
<title>Shoes Collection – Page 2</title>
<meta name="description" content="Browse page 2 of our top-selling shoes. Stylish, comfortable, and affordable.">
This gives each page a unique identity in SERPs.
7. Use Internal Links to Paginated URLs
Why It Matters:
If paginated pages are not linked from
other parts of the site, they become
orphan pages (hard for crawlers to find).
What To Do:
●
Add internal links from other
pages/posts to deeper paginated URLs
●
Consider breadcrumb navigation
Example:
Inside a blog post:
html
<p>For more tips, check out our <a href="/blog/page/3/">older SEO posts</a>.</p>
Also use "View All Posts" if possible for a full-access archive.
8. If You Have a “View All”
Page, Canonicalize Paginated Pages to It (Only If It’s Better)
Why It Matters:
If you have a “view all” version of
content, and it fully replicates what’s in the paginated pages, Google prefers
the consolidated version.
What To Do:
●
Point canonical tags from page 2,
3, 4, etc., to the view-all page
●
But only if:
○
The view-all loads quickly
○
It doesn’t overwhelm users or hurt
UX
Example:
html
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/view-all/" />
If your view-all is too heavy, better to
keep canonical self-referencing for each page.
9. Paginate Server-Side for
SEO Visibility
Why It Matters:
Client-side (JS-based) pagination may not
load in time for crawlers. Server-side rendering ensures search engines can access paginated content.
Best Practice:
●
Generate HTML pagination
server-side
●
Ensure content loads with the initial HTML, not just after
JS loads
10. Design for Great User
Experience
Why It Matters:
Poor pagination frustrates users,
increases bounce rate, and kills SEO signals.
UX Best Practices:
●
Use numbered pages (1, 2, 3…)
rather than just “Next/Previous”
●
Highlight the current page
●
Add jump links (e.g., Page 1, 5,
10)
Example:
html
<nav class="pagination">
<a href="?page=1">1</a>
<a href="?page=2" class="active">2</a>
<a href="?page=3">3</a>
<a href="?page=4">Next</a>
</nav>
BONUS: Combine Pagination
with Infinite Scroll (Hybrid Approach)
Why It Works:
●
Load content as users scroll (for
UX)
●
Still maintain crawlable URLs (for SEO)
Example:
●
User
scrolls down → loads /page/2/
●
Browser updates URL + server
renders content
Use
tools like:
●
history.pushState for URL updates
●
<noscript> fallback for crawlers
Summary Table
|
Best Practice |
Impact |
|
Use
crawlable links |
Essential |
|
Self-referencing
canonicals |
Avoids
dilution |
|
Avoid
blocking paginated URLs |
Keeps
content indexed |
|
Unique
metadata per page |
Prevents
duplication |
|
Server-side
rendering |
Improves
crawlability |
|
UX
pagination design |
Improves
engagement |
In Details
1. How to Use Canonical Tags
on Paginated Pages (Deep Dive)
What is the Canonical Tag?
The <link
rel="canonical" href="..."> tag
tells search engines which version
of a page is the "main one" to index, to avoid duplicate content
issues.
Common Mistake:
Many websites canonicalize all paginated pages to page 1, like this:
html
<!-- On page 2 -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/" />
This makes Google think page 2 is a duplicate of page 1, so it
may not index the rest of your content.
Correct Approach:
Use self-referencing
canonicals on each paginated page:
html
<!-- On page 2 -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/page/2/" />
Why?
●
Each page contains unique partial content (e.g. different
products, articles)
●
It retains SEO value on all paginated pages
●
It prevents indexing loss
2. Structuring Paginated URLs
for SEO
Best Practices:
- Use clean,
descriptive URLs:
✅ /blog/page/2/
❌ /blog?p=2&ref=nav&id=1739
- Always avoid duplicate content:
○
Don’t let /page/1/
exist separately from /blog/ — either 301 redirect it to /blog/,
or disallow it.
- Use consistent patterns for crawlability.
Pro Tips:
●
Add canonical tags to each
paginated URL (as above).
●
Make sure these URLs are not
blocked in robots.txt.
3. Infinite Scroll +
Pagination: How to Combine Without Losing SEO
Problem:
Infinite scroll improves UX — but content
loaded via JavaScript may not be
crawlable by Google if there's no fallback or crawlable structure.
Solution: Use a Hybrid Approach
●
Use infinite scroll for users, but implement crawlable pagination URLs in HTML.
●
As the user scrolls and new
content loads:
○
Update the URL using JavaScript’s history.pushState
○
Load HTML content from /page/2/,
/page/3/, etc.
●
Ensure each page is accessible without JS too.
Example Code Snippet:
js
history.pushState({}, '', '/blog/page/3/');
Also, add crawlable links at the bottom:
html
<a href="/blog/page/2/">Next Page</a>
Bonus: Use <noscript> to ensure basic links are still crawlable.
4. rel="prev" and rel="next": Still Useful?
Important Update:
Google no longer uses these tags for indexing or crawling purposes. But they:
●
Still help with usability
●
Are used by some screen readers and accessibility tools
Proper Usage:
html
<!-- On page 2 -->
<link rel="prev" href="https://example.com/blog/page/1/" />
<link rel="next" href="https://example.com/blog/page/3/" />
Where to Place:
●
Inside the <head> of each paginated HTML page
When to Avoid:
●
Don’t rely on these alone for SEO
— they’re supplemental, not
essential.
5. How to Handle Duplicate
Meta Titles & Descriptions on Paginated Pages
The Problem:
If every paginated page shares the same
title and meta description:
html
<title>Our Blog</title>
<meta name="description" content="Explore our latest articles and stories.">
Search engines will see them as duplicate content, and users won’t know
which page they’re clicking on.
The Solution:
Make each page’s metadata unique by referencing the page number.
html
<!-- Page 2 -->
<title>Our Blog – Page 2</title>
<meta name="description" content="Explore more articles in our blog archive. This is page 2 of our collection.">
Pro Tip:
Use
dynamic templates for pagination:
liquid
<title>{{ page_title }} - Page {{ current_page }}</title>
This
helps both with:
●
Better click-through rates from Google
●
Avoiding duplicate meta issues
TL;DR — Summary Checklist
|
Area |
Best Practice |
|
Canonical |
Self-referencing
on each paginated page |
|
URLs |
Clean
structure (/page/2/) without parameters |
|
Infinite
Scroll |
Combine
with crawlable HTML pagination |
|
rel="prev/next" |
Still
use for UX & accessibility |
|
Meta
Titles |
Make
each one unique using page numbers |
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