Advertising Continue reading below In a recent study from the Baymard Institute, they break down paging versus the “load more” button versus infinite scrolling. To me, it seems to be SEO (Team Pagination) vs UX designer (Team Infinite Scrolling). Paging Pagination allows websites to divide content into smaller sections. By adding rel="next", rel="prev" tags to specify which pages are part of a series, you help search engines understand the relationship between those pages. Google has put together this helpful guide to pagination that goes into more detail. If you are implementing pagination on your e-commerce site, remember to add <meta name=”robots” content=”noindex, follow”> tags to all pages in the paginated series except for the first page. This will ensure that only the first page of your series is indexed. Here's an example from Macy's: A Step-By-Step Guide to SEO for E-Commerce Websites | SEJ"Load more" button The “load more” button allows the user to scroll through the product list without having to click to the next page.
The loading time is much faster and fax list creates a better user experience. Advertising Continue reading below Here is an example from Sketchers: A Step-By-Step Guide to SEO for E-Commerce Websites | SEJ While only 8% of the top 50 e-commerce websites in the US use the “Load More” approach, you can see how appealing it is when trying to expand your product list. Endless parade Infinite scrolling can delay the user from reaching your website footer. The user might see the footer for a second, but quickly the next set of results is displayed. This can be your main navigation pages. Advertising Continue reading below Here is an example from American Eagle Outfitters: A Step-By-Step Guide to SEO for E-Commerce Websites | SEJ So who wins? The “Load more” button coupled with pagination answers the question for both user experience and SEO.
This means setting a limit that the 'Load more' button is displayed. I keep mine between 25 and 75 products per desktop search. On mobile, I'll stick to 15-30 products per search. If you want to learn more about the best practices between infinite scrolling, the “load more” button, and pagination, check out this analysis from Dan McKinely, product engineer for Etsy. Advertising Continue reading below Step Six: Canonize Products Figuring out what and how to canonicalize your eCommerce site is one of those mundane parts of maintaining a website that no one warns you about. Sure, you can release a new product at any time (and sometimes you do!), but being in charge of your canonization every day can get overwhelming.