Google’s John Mueller recently shared insights on Reddit about pagination, a topic that typically doesn’t get much attention until it becomes necessary. Understanding the correct application of pagination in comparison to using a canonical can be particularly beneficial, especially for those who appreciate the more technical aspects of SEO.
When to Use Pagination
The original query raised concerns about canonicals in the context of Angular JavaScript. The question itself implied a preconceived notion that the problem was related to canonicals.
Here is the question:
"I’m having issues with canonicals on my site and I believe it’s due to the angular JS used in the HTML. For thousands of pages on the site, Google is ignoring the canonical link and selecting their own, the issue is the page Google is selecting is incorrect."
The issue here is that the individual is attempting to use the incorrect tool for a problem it was not intended to address.
John Mueller’s response:
“That’s basically a question of how to handle pagination…
Google has a guide on this, however in the end, I think it mostly comes down to: ‘does this page in the paginated series bring joy?’ and if not, then just no-index it.
Some sites feel all pages in a paginated series are important, so they keep them indexed (the fancy ones using rel-next/prev). Some sites cap paginated series at a certain number, perhaps letting the first one get indexed, and the rest not.
The decision is also sometimes based on the content of the paginated series. For example, if it’s a list of linked detail pages, then you could decide by whether or not you can reach all pages even if you don’t have the full paginated set indexed (if you cross-link to related posts/products, then usually that’s the case).”
John Mueller also cautioned against using rel=canonical to compel Google to only show the first page of a series, noting this is not the correct approach.
Here’s John Mueller’s explanation:
“The main thing to avoid, since this post is about canonicalization, is to use the rel=canonical on page 2 pointing to page 1. Page 2 isn’t equivalent to page 1, so the rel=canonical like that would be incorrect, practically speaking. Short of page 2 potentially being indexed, it wouldn’t break anything significantly though.”
The rel=canonical is a suggestion, not a directive that Google must follow. When Google determines that page two varies from page one, it will disregard the rel=canonical.
John Mueller further stated that regular indexing should generally manage a few sets of paginated content present on a website:
“If there are just a few paginated sets across your site like this (which sounds like it might be the case), then I wouldn’t sweat it and just let them get indexed normally, without any special rel=prev/next linking or no-indexing.”
This suggests that the use of rel=prev/next could be more beneficial in cases where there is abundant paginated content, such as in active forum discussions that can span many pages.
Official Developers Page guidance on rel=prev/next advises:
“Use rel=”next” and rel=”prev” links or headers to indicate the relationship between component URLs. This markup provides a strong hint to Google that you would like us to treat these pages as a logical sequence, thus consolidating their linking properties and usually sending searchers to the first page.”
Key takeaways about rel next/previous:
- Indicates a relationship between the URLs
- Functions like a canonical tag by providing a suggestion rather than a directive.
- Inbound links to the various pages are consolidated.
- Google typically directs searchers to the first page of the paginated content.
Do Not Use Rel=Prev/Next for an Article Series
Google’s official advice notes against using rel=prev/next for a series of articles. For example, creating a series of articles on dog grooming with separate pieces for cutting nails, brushing, etc., should not be linked using pagination.
According to Google, Rel=Prev/Next is intended for a single article or document, not a series. Google’s developer page specifies:
“You should not use this technique merely to indicate a reading list of an article series; you should use this to indicate a single long piece of content that is broken into multiple pages.”
This is valuable information regarding pagination. SEO encompasses many technical nuances, and understanding these, like pagination, can be extremely useful. Periodic reviews of such details are beneficial.
Images by Shutterstock, Modified by Author
