Should you really let go of rel=next and rel=prev tags for pagination?

Why is Google giving up these pagination tags?‍

The rel=next and rel=prev tags have long served as explicit signals to indicate to Google the structure of paginated content. The idea was to prevent each page in a series (page 2, 3, 4...) from being considered duplicate content or diluting PageRank.

John Mueller asserts that Google's algorithms have progressed sufficiently to automatically recognize pagination without these tags. Essentially, Google detects internal link patterns, structured URLs (e.g. ?page=2, /page/3/), and repetitive navigation elements to understand that it is a logical series.

What happens to sites that still use them?‍

The statement specifies that these tags can remain in place — they do not harm, they are simply ignored from an SEO perspective. For accessibility, particularly with screen readers or certain browsers, they still provide marginal utility.

Let's be honest: very few mainstream sites still need these attributes for web accessibility. Most modern frameworks (React, Vue, Next.js) create dynamic pagination without ever touching these tags. The accessibility argument remains theoretical for the majority of cases.

How does Google automatically identify pagination?‍

Google does not detail its methods precisely — and that’s where it gets tricky. It is assumed that URL parameter analysis, the detection of “Next Page” buttons, and content redundancy between sequential pages play a key role.

The issue is that some e-commerce sites or forums use complex structures where pages do not follow a conventional ?page=N pattern. Multiple filters, dynamic sorting, opaque URLs generated by legacy systems — in these cases, there's no guarantee that Google correctly understands the pagination logic.

• The rel=next/prev tags are no longer interpreted as pagination signals by Google
• Automatic detection relies on non-public heuristics
• Sites can keep these attributes for other engines or tools, without negative impact
• No technical migration is mandatory — removing these tags is not a priority
• The abandonment concerns only Google, not Bing or other crawlers that may still use them

Is this statement consistent with field observations?‍

For several years now, feedback from experienced SEOs indicated that the impact of rel=next/prev had become marginal. A/B tests on large sites (media, e-commerce) showed little or no difference in indexing or ranking when these attributes were removed. Mueller's statement thereby confirms an empirically observed trend.

Now, a caveat: Google claims that its systems recognize pagination "automatically". [To be verified] — this generalization does not account for edge cases. On sites with non-standard URL patterns, poorly implemented AJAX pagination, or hybrid structures (infinite scroll + classic pagination), automatic detection may fail. We've seen examples where pages 2, 3, 4 remain orphaned in the crawl without explicit signals.

What are the implications for crawl budget?‍

Historically, rel=next/prev helped to consolidate relevance signals and guide Googlebot to the next pages in a series. Without these tags, Google has to deduce which pages to prioritize for exploration. For massive sites (millions of products, dense forums), this can fragment the crawl budget across low-priority URLs.

In concrete terms? If your site generates hundreds of paginated pages (product categories, blog archives), monitor the indexing of deep pages. Log files and Google Search Console become crucial to ensure that Googlebot is not missing entire segments. The risk: poorly architected pagination could now go unnoticed, whereas rel=next/prev forced a sequential crawl.

Should you remove these tags immediately?‍

No. No technical urgency. They are ignored, not penalized — leaving them in place does not harm SEO. However, if you are redesigning your site or migrating to a modern stack, there’s no need to reimplement them. It’s dead code from Google’s standpoint.

An often-overlooked point: Bing, Yandex or Baidu may still interpret these attributes. If your audience or strategy includes engines other than Google, keeping rel=next/prev remains relevant. In a purely Google-centric context, however, it’s technical passive to gradually clean up — without it becoming a priority.

What should you practically do with existing tags?‍

Don't rush to remove them. If your CMS or framework generates them automatically (WordPress, Shopify, Magento), leave them be — their presence does not degrade anything. However, if you are developing a new site from scratch or refactoring your architecture, don’t waste time coding them manually.

For existing sites with complex pagination, the key action: indexation audit. Check in Google Search Console that pages 2, 3, 4… of your main categories are being crawled and indexed correctly. If they appear as “Discovered, currently not indexed,” it’s a signal that Google doesn’t understand your structure — and that rel=next/prev wouldn’t save you anyway.

How to optimize pagination without these tags?‍

The first rule: make your pagination links crawlable. Avoid JavaScript that generates “Next Page” buttons solely on the client side. Googlebot must find these links in the raw HTML. A <a href="?page=2"> classic link remains the safe bet.

Second lever: well-configured canonical tags. Each paginated page should point to itself in canonical (page 2 → canonical to page 2), not to page 1. A common mistake that sends contradictory signals and may prevent indexing of subsequent pages.

Third point: robust internal linking. If your pagination is critical for accessing content (e.g., e-commerce product listings), ensure that deep pages are also accessible via filters, tags, or contextual menus. Don’t rely solely on sequential pagination — Google might miss it.

What mistakes should be avoided in this context?‍

Mistake #1: Blocking paginated pages in robots.txt or via noindex. Some teams panic over perceived “duplicate content” and deindex all pages but the first. Result: hundreds of products or articles become invisible in Google. Pagination is not duplicate content; it’s logical navigation — let Google index it.

Mistake #2: Implementing infinite scroll without HTML fallback. If your site loads the next page in AJAX on scroll, Googlebot will never see this content unless you provide an alternative with classic HTML links. The “hybrid approach” (infinite scroll for UX + <a> links as fallback) remains essential.

• Audit the indexing of paginated pages via Search Console (index coverage)
• Verify that pagination links are crawlable (HTML, not JS exclusive)
• Confirm that each paginated page has a self-referential canonical
• Test crawlability with Screaming Frog or Oncrawl to validate discoverability
• Avoid blocking pagination parameters (?page=, /page/) in robots.txt
• Monitor log files to detect any gaps in the crawl of deep pages