Pagination Checker
Paste your page HTML and audit rel prev/next chains, self-referencing canonicals and page-URL signals on paginated series.
What this tool gives you
Check pagination SEO
Paste your page HTML. Analysis runs locally in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
Every page in a series needs a self-referencing canonical — never point page 2+ at page one.
What this checker looks for
Broken series dilute equity across ?page= URLs that crawlers half-index and users never link to.
Prev/next chain
rel=prev and rel=next link tags so crawlers can walk the series.
Self canonical
Exactly one canonical per page, pointing at itself — not page one.
Page URLs
?page=, /page/N and offset links found in anchors.
Anchor crawl path
Plain href links between pages, not JS-only pagination.
Series equity
Deep pages stay indexable instead of collapsing into page one.
0–100 score
Track pagination hygiene across archives and category templates.
How to fix a paginated series
Three rules keep deep pages indexable instead of collapsing into page one.
Chain every page
Declare rel=prev and rel=next link tags plus plain href anchors.
Canonicalize to self
One canonical per page pointing at itself — never at page one.
Keep hrefs crawlable
Replace JS-only pagination with links crawlers can follow.
Why answer engines care about pagination
Archives and category pages hold the long tail — if crawlers cannot walk the series, those URLs never get cited.
| Signal | What engines infer | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Prev/next chain | The series is walkable. | Crawlers discover deep pages without guessing URLs. |
| Self canonicals | Each page is distinct. | Deep pages stay indexed instead of collapsing to page one. |
| Plain href links | Pagination works unrendered. | Faster discovery means fresher long-tail citations. |
| No page-one canonical | Equity is not misdirected. | Ranking signals stay on the URL users actually visit. |
| Clean page URLs | ?page= and /page/N are consistent. | Extractors can reference stable deep-page URLs. |
Related GEO pages
Pagination pairs with canonicals and internal links so deep pages stay in the index.
Pagination FAQs
Should page 2 canonicalize to page 1?
No. Each page in a paginated series is distinct content and needs a self-referencing canonical. Pointing page 2+ at page one tells Google the deep pages are duplicates, so they drop out of the index.
Do rel=prev and rel=next still matter?
Google retired them as an indexing signal, but they remain a cheap crawl hint that helps every crawler walk the series. Declare both link tags plus plain href anchors between pages.
What breaks pagination SEO most often?
JS-only pagination with no crawlable hrefs, a missing canonical on deep pages, and canonicalizing the whole series to page one. This checker flags all three from raw HTML.