How should I handle duplicate content issues with pagination on a Webflow website to ensure proper SEO?
TL;DR
- Add a canonical tag to the main Collection List page and avoid indexing paginated pages using JavaScript-injected meta tags.
- Ensure each paginated page has unique content and metadata, link primarily to the main page, and monitor SEO performance in Google Search Console.
Duplicate content caused by pagination can impact SEO if search engines index multiple similar pages without clear context. Here’s how to manage pagination in Webflow to avoid SEO issues:
1. Understand How Webflow Handles Pagination
- Webflow automatically paginates Collection Lists when the “Pagination” setting is enabled.
- Each paginated page (e.g.,
/blog,/blog?page=2, etc.) displays a portion of your CMS content but can appear duplicative to search engines.
2. Avoid Indexing Paginated Pages
- Since Webflow doesn’t support custom
<head>control on paginated pages, you can't directly use rel="next/prev" or canonical tags. - Instead, use “noindex” on paginated pages when possible:
- For paginated pages like
/blog?page=2, use custom code in the<head>section by detecting URL parameters using JavaScript. - Inject a meta robots tag if
window.location.search.includes("?page="). - Note: This method isn't officially supported by Webflow and may not be fully reliable, but it’s a common workaround.
3. Use Canonical Tags on Main Pages
- In your main Collection List Page (e.g.,
/blog), add a canonical tag pointing to itself: - Go to Page Settings → Scroll to Custom Code in Head.
- Add:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourdomain.com/blog"> - This tells search engines that
/blogis the primary page, reducing the risk of duplicate indexing.
4. Limit Page Content Duplication
- Avoid identical meta titles and descriptions across paginated pages.
- Consider adding unique content on each paginated page (e.g., subheadings, extra context).
- Reduce visible content duplication by limiting the number of items per page and offering category filters or tags to split content semantically.
5. Use Internal Linking Thoughtfully
- Link primarily to the main collection list page rather than sub-page URLs.
- This signals to search engines that the main page carries the most authority.
6. Monitor in Google Search Console
- Use URL Inspection to confirm how Google crawls your paginated content.
- Use the coverage report to detect duplicate or crawled-but-not-indexed issues.
Summary
To manage duplicate content from pagination in Webflow: use canonical tags, minimize indexing of paginated pages through JavaScript workarounds, avoid identical metadata, and monitor crawl behavior through Search Console. Webflow has limited native pagination SEO controls, so these strategies help mitigate risks effectively.