Can Google crawl sites with ‘More Content’ button pagination?

July 11, 2022

If pagination is implemented on a website using a button that can be used to load additional content, it depends on the type of implementation whether Google can crawl the back pages.

In order for Google to be able to crawl pages that are hidden behind the pagination of a website or blog, the navigation must be implemented accordingly. For example, if you don’t use the classic form of pagination with various selectable pages and links to scroll through, but a button that can be used to load additional content, it depends on how this button works.

John Müller explained in the Google Search Central SEO Office Hours of April 1 that if the button is connected to JavaScript and a function is executed via JavaScript when the button is pressed, Google cannot retrieve the associated content. If, on the other hand, the button is a normal link, Google will follow it – even if it is not labeled “Page 2” or something similar.

Müller also gave advice in the event that the pagination on a website has been changed in such a way that Google can no longer crawl the content on the back pages, but this was previously possible. Then Google would keep the previously crawled pages in the index but concentrate on the accessible pages. Cross-linking can help here, so that individual posts link to one another. Tag pages and similar internal link structures can also be helpful.