Why Canonical Tags on Pagination Matter
Canonical tags are signals to search engines about which URL you want to treat as the “master” version of a page. For paginated ecommerce collections, this is a double-edged sword.
If you canonical all your paginated pages back to page one, you’re effectively telling Google: “Don’t bother indexing these other pages.” That can keep things neat, but it can also hide valuable product listings deeper in your catalogue.
On the other hand, if you set self-referencing canonicals on each paginated page, you’re allowing Google to treat them as standalone URLs. That keeps everything discoverable, but it can dilute ranking signals and inflate crawl budget.
So, which path do you choose? The answer depends on your tech stack, your merchandising strategy, and your site’s scale.
Shopify and WordPress: Default Behaviours and Pitfalls
Shopify, by default, adds canonical tags on paginated collections that point back to page one. For example, /collections/front?page=2 will canonicalise to /collections/front/. That means page two and beyond are effectively invisible in Google’s index.
WordPress, depending on the theme or plugin setup, is more flexible but also inconsistent. Some ecommerce themes add self-referencing canonicals, others default to the main collection page. If you’re running WooCommerce, you need to explicitly check what’s happening.
Actionable tip: Don’t just assume your platform is handling canonicals correctly. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to crawl your site and see where your canonicals point.
How Big Brands Handle It
The truth is, even the giants aren’t consistent. Here’s a snapshot:
- The Iconic:
URL example:
https://www.theiconic.com.au/womens-clothing-lingerie-bras/?page=2
Canonical points to:
https://www.theiconic.com.au/womens-clothing-lingerie-bras/ - Woolworths:
URL example:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/browse/fruit-veg/salad?pageNumber=2
Canonical points to:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/browse/fruit-veg/salad - Harvey Norman:
URL example:
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/computers-tablets/computers/laptops?p=2
Canonical points to itself:
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/computers-tablets/computers/laptops?p=2
Three big players, three different approaches. Some consolidate to page one, others keep every page live. Neither is “right” or “wrong”—it depends on how the site is built and what’s most important for their SEO.
Actionable tip: Benchmark your approach against competitors in your industry. If they’re winning visibility on deeper product pages, they might be using self-referencing canonicals to keep those indexed.
Crawl Budget and Scale
For smaller ecommerce sites, crawl budget is rarely a concern. But if you’re managing a catalogue with thousands of products across hundreds of categories, every unnecessary URL that Googlebot wastes time on matters.
Self-referencing canonicals across thousands of paginated pages can slow down crawling of new products. Canonicalising everything back to page one reduces crawl bloat but risks hiding inventory.
This is why enterprise-level SEO isn’t just about keywords, it’s about system design.
Actionable tip: Measure how often your paginated pages are being crawled and indexed using Google Search Console’s Coverage report. If important product URLs aren’t showing, your canonical setup may be the culprit.
Content Segmentation and Merchandising Strategy
Here’s where things get interesting. Using non-canonical pages, you can sometimes uncover ranking potential beyond page one. If page two of a collection starts ranking for specific long-tail queries, that’s a sign you may need to reorganise your collection or create a new landing page.
This isn’t just SEO, it’s merchandising strategy. If users are searching and landing on deep pages, you might want to bring those products forward or create a dedicated collection.
Actionable tip: Track impressions and clicks for non-canonical pages in Google Search Console. This can reveal hidden gems you’re currently suppressing.
Infinite Scroll, Lazy Load, and Load More Buttons
Modern ecommerce design often hides pagination behind JavaScript. Infinite scroll and lazy load features are popular for user experience but can wreak havoc if search engines can’t crawl your full product catalogue.
That said, having a “Load More” button at the bottom of the page still works for SEO, provided you implement proper URL updates (so /page=2 is generated). Google has improved at crawling these patterns, but you can’t rely on it blindly.
Actionable tip: Always test your infinite scroll setup with Google’s URL Inspection tool. Make sure Googlebot can discover products beyond the first load.
Pros and Cons of Canonical Tags on Paginated Ecommerce Pages
Pros of Canonicalising to Page One
- Consolidates link equity and avoids duplicate content
- Keeps crawl budget focused on priority pages
- Reduces risk of thin or duplicate listings cluttering the index
Cons of Canonicalising to Page One
- Risk of hiding products deeper in the catalogue
- Missed opportunity to rank for long-tail searches
- Makes it harder to measure performance of deeper pages
Pros of Self-Referencing Canonicals
- Every product listing remains discoverable
- Potential to capture long-tail keywords on deeper pages
- Transparency in reporting and tracking
Cons of Self-Referencing Canonicals
- Crawl budget strain on very large websites
- Risk of diluting ranking signals across multiple URLs
- Requires ongoing monitoring to prevent index bloat
Conclusion: Choose Your Strategy Wisely
Canonical tags on paginated ecommerce pages aren’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Shopify, WordPress, and other platforms each come with their own quirks, and big brands themselves adopt different strategies depending on their goals.
The most important step is to check your current setup, test what’s working, and align it with your SEO and merchandising strategy. Crawl budget, tech stack limitations, and user behaviour all play a role.
If you take one thing away, it’s this: don’t blindly follow defaults. Audit your pagination, test your canonicals, and make strategic decisions.
Rasesh Koirala is a senior SEO consultant who has helped ecommerce businesses of all sizes improve visibility and revenue. For more advanced SEO insights and actionable tips, bookmark this blog and keep coming back. You’ll always find strategies you can apply directly to Shopify, WordPress, and beyond.
