The playbook
Pagination SEO: Template and Field Guide
This pagination SEO template turns a broad task into a record another person can use. It captures collection, page URL, next link, then connects that information to a decision. Copy the table into your working document or system and create a separate record for each item in scope.
Put the task in context
Make later collection pages available through actual linked addresses. An infinite-scroll experience can coexist with discoverable underlying pages. Test that an item on a later page can be reached and that each collection URL behaves correctly when loaded directly.
Copyable worksheet
| Field | Entry instructions |
|---|---|
| collection | Record the collection associated with this page or query record. Use a stable reference so later updates can be matched. |
| page URL | Record the page URL associated with this page or query record. Keep the value specific enough for another owner to interpret. |
| next link | Record the next link associated with this page or query record. Keep the value specific enough for another owner to interpret. |
| item coverage | Record the item coverage associated with this page or query record. Keep the value specific enough for another owner to interpret. |
| Decision field | Entry instructions |
|---|---|
| Observed problem | Describe the actual condition and where it was observed. |
| Recommended action | State the smallest action that resolves the documented problem. |
| Evidence | Link to the record, observation, or test supporting the action. |
| Owner and next review | Name the accountable person and when the decision should be revisited. |
How to complete the worksheet
Begin with collection. Use the same reference throughout the record so notes are not attached to the wrong item. Then provide direct URLs for collection pages. This establishes the information required before the worksheet becomes a request for action.
Next, make next and previous navigation crawlable. Use the observed problem and evidence fields to explain why that step is needed. A useful entry describes an actual condition, such as hiding all later items behind an inaccessible load-more action, rather than a broad instruction to “improve performance.”
Finally, ensure later items can be reached without special interaction. Put provide a discoverable path to each important item in the action field only when it addresses the observed condition. If the problem is different, change the action. The template is a structure for judgment, not a reason to apply the same fix everywhere.
Illustrative completed decision
| Part | Illustrative entry |
|---|---|
| Problem | Hiding all later items behind an inaccessible load-more action |
| Action | Provide a discoverable path to each important item |
| First check | Provide direct URLs for collection pages |
| Follow-up check | Ensure later items can be reached without special interaction |
| Outcome to define | items with discoverable detail pages |
Adapt the fields without losing meaning
You can add fields required by your team, but each should change a decision or preserve necessary context. Keep factual observations separate from recommendations. If page URL changes, record the new value and its effective date instead of silently rewriting the context of an earlier decision.
Use the record in a handoff
Ask the receiving owner to explain the next action using only the worksheet. Missing context becomes visible quickly during that exercise. Repair the record before applying the structure to a larger batch. Keep items with discoverable detail pages connected to the item so the team can later assess whether the action was useful.
Search results and indexing decisions are not controlled by the publisher. Record what your team changed and what was observed afterward. Avoid turning a correlation between a release and a traffic change into a claim of proven causation.
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