## **Overview**

If Search Atlas is showing multiple versions of your blog post URLs — for example, **example.com/blog/post/**, **example.com/blog/post/?page=2**, and **example.com/blog/post/?page=3** — these are **pagination variants**, not duplicate pages created by Search Atlas. They are separate, search-engine-visible URLs that exist on your site and are being surfaced so you can manage them correctly.

This article explains what pagination variants are, why they appear in your audit, and how to resolve any canonicalization issues.

## **What Are Pagination Variants?**

Pagination variants are numbered URL versions of a single page. They are generated by your CMS or website platform when long-form content — such as a blog post, product listing, or article — is split across multiple pages. Common formats include:

- **example.com/blog/post/?page=2**
- **example.com/blog/post/2/**
- **example.com/blog/post/?p=2**

Search engines crawl and index each of these URLs independently. Without correct canonical tags, search engines may treat them as competing versions of the same content, which can dilute your page authority and hurt rankings.

**Search Atlas does not create these URLs.** It detects them during your site crawl and flags them so you can take action.

## **How to Find Pagination Variant Issues in Your Audit**

Once your site crawl is complete, navigate to your audit project in Search Atlas and look for any issues related to duplicate or paginated URLs. The audit will surface grouped URL sets — showing the parent URL alongside its numbered variants — so you can review which pages are affected.

If you are unsure where to locate these results within your specific audit view, our support team can guide you to the correct section of the interface.

## **How to Fix Pagination Variants**

The correct fix depends on how your content is structured. The following approaches are commonly used to resolve pagination canonicalization issues.

**Option 1 — Add a canonical tag to each paginated URL**

Point the canonical tag on each paginated variant back to the main (first) page of the post. For example, **example.com/blog/post/?page=2** should include a canonical tag referencing **example.com/blog/post/**. Add this inside the **`<head>`** section of each paginated page:

- **`<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/blog/post/" />`**

Many CMS platforms allow you to set canonical URLs through SEO settings or plugins without editing code directly. Refer to your CMS documentation for the specific steps that apply to your platform.

**Option 2 — Disable pagination if it is not needed**

If your blog posts do not require pagination, consider disabling it in your CMS settings. This will prevent the additional paginated URLs from being generated and crawled.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.