Pagination URL Not Linked in Body

What This Means

A URL in a paginated series is referenced in the rel=next chain but does not appear as a clickable link in the page body (the numeric page navigation). The page is theoretically discoverable via the rel=next attribute, but not through normal in-page navigation.

Why It Matters for SEO

While most search engine crawlers follow rel=next links, some do not — and user experience is affected by missing page links in the pagination UI. A paginated series where users cannot click "page 4" in the navigation has a broken UI element, regardless of whether rel=next is present.

What the Platform Checks

The platform cross-references the rel=next/prev chain with actual clickable links in the page body. Fires when a paginated URL appears in rel=next but not in the visible navigation links within the page.

How to Fix It

• Ensure your pagination UI renders all page numbers as clickable links in the page body, not just in rel=next attributes.
• For long series with "..." truncated navigation (page 1 2 ... 10 11), at minimum ensure the canonical next and previous pages are linked.
• Verify that pagination links are not hidden by JavaScript-only rendering that crawlers cannot execute.