Pagination Canonical Strategy Helper
Should “Page 2” canonicalize to “Page 1”? (Hint: NO!) Generate the correct rel=next/prev and canonical tags to ensure Google indexes your deep content.
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The “Page 2” Problem: Where SEO Goes to Die
Pagination is necessary for eCommerce sites and blogs, but it is also one of the easiest things to break.
A common myth is that you should canonicalize /page/2/ back to /page/1/ to “consolidate authority.” Do not do this. If you do, you tell Google that Page 2 is a duplicate of Page 1. Google will obey you, de-index Page 2, and consequently stop crawling all the products or articles linked on that page.
This Pagination Strategy Helper generates the correct code to ensure your deep content remains visible and indexable.
The 2 Valid Strategies
Each page (1, 2, 3) points to itself.
- Page 1 Canonical → Page 1
- Page 2 Canonical → Page 2
Best for: Large eCommerce sites where a “View All” page would load too slowly.
Create one page containing ALL items.
- Page 1 Canonical → View-All
- Page 2 Canonical → View-All
Best for: Smaller categories (under 100 items). Google prefers this as it indexes everything in one go.
Is rel=”next/prev” Dead?
In 2019, Google announced they no longer use rel="next" and rel="prev" as indexing signals. However, Bing still uses them.
Furthermore, these tags are excellent for Accessibility (screen readers) and general site structure. We recommend keeping them implementation for a robust, cross-engine strategy.
Handling Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll is great for UX but terrible for bots (Googlebot doesn’t scroll). To fix this, you must use Component Pages.
Even if users see a continuous scroll, your code must contain standard <a href="/page/2/"> links hidden in the DOM. This allows the bot to “click” through to the next set of results, ensuring they get indexed.
Fix Your Crawl Architecture
Pagination issues are silent revenue killers. We audit your category structures to ensure 100% of your inventory is visible to search engines.
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