For search engines to discover and index your paginated content, they need to be able to follow a clear path of crawlable links. A critical technical SEO issue arises when pagination URLs are not in proper anchor tags. An anchor tag (`<a>`) with an `href` attribute is the standard way to create a hyperlink. If your pagination is implemented using other methods, such as JavaScript `onclick` events without a corresponding `href`, search engines may not be able to follow the links.

Think of your website as a series of rooms, and your links as the doors between them. An anchor tag is a proper, working door. A pagination URL without an anchor tag is like a painted-on door—it looks like a way to get to the next room, but it doesn’t actually work for a search engine crawler. For a broader look at pagination, see our guide on the pagination category.

An illustration of a broken link, symbolizing the importance of fixing pagination URLs not in anchor tags.

Why Crawlable Links are Non-Negotiable

As explained in Google’s own guide to crawlable links, a clear and logical link structure is essential.

  • Crawlability: Search engines follow `href` attributes on `<a>` tags to discover new pages. If these are missing, your paginated content may not be found.
  • Indexing: If a page can’t be crawled, it can’t be indexed. This means the content on your paginated pages will be invisible in the search results.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Unclickable Pagination

The goal is to ensure that all of your pagination links are implemented as standard, crawlable anchor tags. For more on this, check out this guide to pagination best practices from Moz.

Code Example: The Fix

&lt;!-- Before: Uncrawlable JavaScript link --&gt;
&lt;span onclick="goToPage(2)"&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;!-- After: Crawlable anchor tag --&gt;
&lt;a href="/category?page=2"&gt;2&lt;/a&gt;
  1. Crawl Your Site: Use an SEO audit tool like Creeper to identify any pagination URLs that are not in proper anchor tags.
  2. Work with Your Developer: This is a technical issue that will likely require a developer to fix. The goal is to replace any non-standard pagination with standard `<a>` tags with `href` attributes.
  3. Validate the Fix: Recrawl your site to confirm that all pagination links are now crawlable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ‘not in an anchor tag’ mean?

An anchor tag is the HTML element `<a>` that is used to create a hyperlink. A pagination URL that is ‘not in an anchor tag’ is one that is not a proper, crawlable link. This can happen if the link is implemented using JavaScript in a way that is not accessible to search engines.

Why is this a problem for SEO?

Search engines primarily discover new pages by following links. If your pagination URLs are not in proper `<a>` tags with `href` attributes, search engine crawlers will not be able to follow them. This means they may not discover and index the content on your paginated pages.

How can I find and fix this issue?

The most effective way is to use a website crawler like Creeper that can identify non-crawlable pagination links. The fix is to work with your developer to ensure that all pagination links are implemented as standard HTML anchor tags with a valid `href` attribute.

Ready to fix your unclickable pages? Start your Creeper audit today and see how you can improve your website’s pagination.