Pagination
Best practices for handling paginated content with proper canonicalization strategies
Pagination Policy - Best Practices
Recommended approach for handling paginated content in SEO
Page 1: Fully Indexable
The first page is the primary landing page and should be fully indexed. It represents the canonical view of the content and typically has the most value for users and search engines.
Page 2+: Index & Follow
Pagination pages beyond the first should stay fully indexable when they present unique items. Keep them discoverable and let canonicals match the real URL format.
- Matches Google guidance for paginated collections
- Maintains signals for items that only appear deeper in the set
- Self-canonical prevents dilution across pagination formats
Canonical Strategy: Self-Referencing
Each pagination page should have a self-referencing canonical. This is the standard approach recommended by Google for paginated content.
Why not canonical to page 1? Pointing page 2+ to page 1 would signal that the content is duplicate, which it is not. Each page shows different items and should maintain its own identity.
Anti-Pattern: Blocking in robots.txt
Never block pagination in robots.txt. This prevents crawlers from discovering content on subsequent pages. Keep pagination indexable with self-canonicals so products remain visible.
Blocking pagination prevents crawlers from accessing products, articles, or items that might only appear on page 2 or beyond.