Pagination
Pagination is the practice of dividing content across multiple pages, typically used for blog archives, category pages, product listings, and comment sections. Each page in the sequence is assigned a unique URL (e.g., `/category/page/2/`). Proper SEO handling of pagination ensures that paginated content is discoverable, that link equity flows correctly through the series, and that thin or near-duplicate paginated pages do not create indexing problems.
Google's historical recommendation of using `rel="next"` and `rel="prev"` link attributes was officially deprecated in 2019, with Google stating it relies on its own algorithms to understand paginated series. Current best practices include ensuring page 1 is the canonical entry point for the series, using descriptive `<title>` tags for each paginated page, and making the full series crawlable through internal links. Some SEOs choose to noindex deep paginated pages while keeping them crawlable to consolidate authority on page 1.
Why it matters for SEO
Poor pagination handling can lead to crawl budget waste, index bloat from thin paginated pages, and diluted link equity across a series instead of concentrated on the primary category or archive page. Handling pagination correctly ensures the most important pages in a series receive the strongest ranking signals.
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