Pagination in SEO refers to how a sequence of pages — a multi-page article, a listing split across many pages, a blog archive, paginated comments — is structured so search engines can crawl the whole set and understand its relationship.
Definition
Pagination in SEO refers to how a sequence of pages — a multi-page article, a listing split across many pages, a blog archive, paginated comments — is structured so search engines can crawl the whole set and understand its relationship. Each page in the series should be a real, crawlable URL with a self-referencing canonical (page 2 is not a duplicate of page 1 and should not canonicalise to it), reachable through standard links, and ideally with a descriptive title that reflects its position in the series.
Google previously supported rel="next" and rel="prev" markup to denote a sequence but announced years ago that it no longer uses those signals, so the current guidance is simpler: give each paginated page a unique URL, link them with crawlable anchors, do not block or noindex deeper pages by default, and make sure the content and internal links on deep pages are still reachable. Infinite scroll and "load more" patterns need a paginated URL structure behind them or their content is effectively invisible to crawlers.
In context
For an iGaming affiliate, pagination questions arise on listing pages (a long list of casinos or bonuses split into pages), on the blog or news archive, and on any large glossary or guide index. The main goals are that deep items remain crawlable — a casino on page 4 of a listing, or a glossary term reachable only through a paginated A–Z, should not be effectively orphaned — and that the paginated pages themselves do not create thin, duplicative near-copies competing in the index.
Practical approach: prefer a clear category and filter structure plus a sensible page size so important items are within a click or two of a hub rather than buried on page 9; give each paginated URL a self-canonical and a title like "Casino reviews — page 3"; keep them indexable unless they are genuinely valueless, in which case noindex-follow so links are still crawled; and provide an alternative path to deep items (a full A–Z index, a sitemap, contextual internal links) so their discovery does not depend solely on pagination. For a glossary specifically, an A–Z hub that links directly to every term is better than deep pagination, because it flattens crawl depth and gives every term a strong internal link from a single authoritative page.
Worked example
An affiliate replaces deep pagination on its glossary index with an A–Z hub linking directly to all 700 term pages, cutting crawl depth so new terms are found in days. Its casino listing keeps pagination but with self-canonical pages, descriptive titles, and a filter structure that puts every reviewed brand within two clicks of a category hub.
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